“Special Player, Special Person and MVP”: Francisco Lindor’s 9th Inning Heroics Turn Mets’ Skipper Into a MVP Believer

With bigger power, comes bigger responsibilities. The one person who is helping shoulder this responsibility to take the New York Mets toward the playoffs is undoubtedly Francisco Lindor. He has been phenomenal this season and even predicted to win the NL MVP title. Lindor is fighting out this title with a fan-favorite this year, Shohei Ohtani. But it doesn’t mean the Mets star doesn’t have fans—because the cheers and ‘M-V-P’ signs flashed when Lindor stepped on the mound says a thousand words.

However, there is skepticism, after-all Lindor is up against Ohtani, who is on the run for 50-50—a legendary feat. Yet, the Mets star is showing every time that he deserves to be in the MVP race too. Lindor proved his worth again by coming through a very critical moment during their game with the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Francisco Lindor sure knows how to make the crowd go crazy! The Mets were staring down a potential no-hitter from Bowden Francis as they had gone 110 pitches without a single hit. Not a good look for a team that wants to make it to the playoffs. Of course, to shoulder the team once again, Lindor came to the rescue. 

The Mets star stepped into the lead off the ninth inning and when the team was down to 0-2, the probable MVP king connected a dashing 92 mph baseball that went over the fence. This shot hit broadcaster, Gary Cohen; while the ball didn’t hit Cohen quite literally, he was hit by the Lindor magic! Cohen shouted, “Linsanity!” as the game once again turned its tide, erasing the Blue Jays 1-0 lead. But the Mets were far from done because Lindor’s blast gave the team that zeal and then we saw a rally of runs break out. Alvarez smashed a three-run homer and the team then rallied up more runs to make it a 6-2 win. Manager of the Mets, Carlos Mendoza, was out of words for Lindor, saying, “On a night we are about to get no-hit and for him to put together that at-bat … special player, special person and MVP.”

Francisco Lindor’s performance also carried more importance because it was coming on the day of the horrific 9/11 incident. Lindor wore a special multi-color glove to honor the first responders. And as far as the win goes, the fan favorite was more than impressed with his performance. “I have never really quantified how big my hits are, but it felt really good. It was one of those hits I could tell the vibes in the dugout were different,” said Lindor. Well, while he was stellar, and most crown him the MVP already, Ohtani is in strong. So it remains to see if he can battle it out.

Francisco Lindor or Shohei Ohtani: Who truly deserves the MVP crown?

The competition for the MVP award is heating up and how. Right now the fans and even experts are divided, on who exactly deserves to win this crown. On one side, you have Shohei Ohtani breaking all baseball records, and on one hand, we have Francisco Lindor, who is carrying the Mets forward in the playoff race. For some, Lindor is the straight winner. On the Lindor support list, we have David Ortiz, a Hall of Famer. According to him, the Mets star deserves it more, because, unlike Ohtani, he isn’t a designated hitter. Lindor’s doing it all—may just be the deal breaker and get him the crown.

Shohei Ohtani is not just having a great season, he has seen a one-of-a-kind season. And given that he probably won’t play in the same position once he recovers, this record might be a one-time event! And just as Lindor hit his 31st homer, Ohtani too smashed a 47th home run and had 48 stolen bases. Now the Japanese star is just two stolen bases away from Ricky Henderson’s record. Podcaster Ben Verlander completely dismissed Lindor’s comparison to Ohtani as he mentioned, “But this isn’t close; it’s not close offensively. Shohei Ohtani is one of one in a career. He’s one of one.

Given the pace the Japanese icon has shown, he might be in a race to do more than 50-50. So is Lindor going to be able to match up to the season that Ohtani is having? Well, Ohtani is unstoppable, but nothing is predictable in baseball, even Judge was in contention to beat his 60-homer record—until he got into a slump. But Ohtani’s WAR is sitting at 7.4 and Lindor’s at 6.3—it’s going to be an immense challenge for the Mets star. What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments.