Mets’ Francisco Lindor Bags Top Honor for Off-Field Excellence, Amid Baseball Challenges

The Mets seem to have another Curtis Granderson in the making on their team. Known for his philanthropic approaches, Granderson raised around a million dollars back in 2016 to help youngsters with their educational and sports endeavors. Now, a certain shortstop from their team has proven to follow in his footsteps.

Francisco Lindor has spent millions on his Lindor Foundation, which serves hundreds of students. His aim is to help future baseball players complete their education before they get into the sport. It seems like he finally got the recognition he deserves after spending a season full of challenges on the field.

Francisco Lindor: An epitome of kind excellence

US Sports columnist Bob Nightengale announced Francisco Lindor as the newest winner of the MLB Players Trust’s Philanthropist of the Year Award in a recent Twitter (now X) post. It is a welcome change after he spent this year faring very poorly on the diamond. His offensive form saw such a decline that he was called out by radio hosts because of it.

Much like Granderson, Lindor does his part for the community by working on causes that help with hunger and child education. He also raises funds for other causes like natural disasters and physical disabilities.

The Puerto Rican had a hard time adjusting to a language he wasn’t very fluent in. That is the root cause of why he donated money to the Montverde Academy. In Lindor’s words, “I needed to learn the language. To order food, I needed to learn the language. To play the game that I loved the most, I needed to learn the language.”

He went on to describe, “You’re a student first, then you become an athlete. They preach that a lot at Montverde.” For a player who has such a kind heart, Francisco Lindor did not receive much praise on the diamond for having bad form this year.

Bad luck to Lindor

“Can we get some consistency out of the guy that makes $30 million a year?” is the question that Jerry Recco, an eminent US radio personality, posed for Francisco Lindor back in May of this year. Lindor’s recent performance of batting a heavy low of .225 provoked that criticism. His 2023 batting average stands at .254, which isn’t much better either.

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Will we see Lindor performing any better in 2024, given that he has so much more to look out for beyond the realms of the diamond? Only time will tell.

Read More: Watch: New York Mets Star Francisco Lindor Blasts Home Runs From Both Sides of the Plate