The leadoff spot sets the tone for the batting order, and with both the Yankees and Mets in the LCS this year, both fan bases are seeing the fruits of the manager making a move in belief of one of his stars.
In the Bronx, it was Aaron Boone moving Gleyber Torres back to the top of the lineup when he got hot in the second half that helped pull the Yankees offense out of the doldrums – but that move came a lot earlier in Queens, in May to be exact, when Carlos Mendoza moved Francisco Lindor from either the No. 2 or No. 3 slot to leadoff.
“Not a secret, we were struggling offensively as a team, and after a tough loss in Miami, we were heading back to the hotel, and Francisco and I were having a conversation where lineup construction came up,” Mendoza said Tuesday. “I put it out there that I wanted to give him a different look, and the first thing he said was he hit leadoff when he first came up – so I said, if you want to do it, let’s give it a good look; not a couple games or a week, let's give it a run and see how it goes. And man, he took off.”
Lindor himself hit .097 in the two-hole and a modest .235 in the third spot, but in 109 games at the top, he slashed .303/.374/.552, more than setting the tone – and as Mendoza noted, ‘it seems the lineup kind of fed off that’ as the order more often than not continued with a Nimmo-Martinez-Alonso trio.
“I want to gather as much information as I can, not only for myself but for the guys behind me, and then share that knowledge and let them do whatever they've got to do with it,” Lindor said of his philosophy at the top. “It could be one pitch, or it could be 10 pitches, but it’s information.”
His approach overall wasn’t any different than what Lindor has done his whole career, regardless of where he’s hit in either Cleveland or New York, but he understood that as the table-setter, he was responsible at least once a game not just for himself, but the tone of the offensive game.
“Just because I'm leading off doesn't mean I'll go slap the ball the other way or bunt more or take more pitches, just like hitting third doesn't mean that I'm going to pull the ball more or hit more home runs – I am who I am, and I take the same approach whatever spot in the lineup I’m in,” Lindor said. “But, there is a little bit more of a responsibility when you are leading off; you have to share a little bit more information because you are the first person that's facing the starter that day.”
Consider that mission accomplished for the most part, and consider Lindor happy where he is.
“I just love getting things started. I think it's kind of cool to be able to get base hit, steal a base, or hit a home run or double and just get the crowd and team going,” Lindor said. “But next year, you might ask me the same question about hitting second – it’s whatever the team needs.”
What they definitely need over the next three days in Queens, where they have to win at least one of three (preferably two and definitely preferably three) is for their superstar MVP candidate to just keep things up -because in addition to that overall leadoff mark, Lindor is hitting just .235, but he’s maintained his OBP (.372) and some of his hits have been the biggest of October.
“(The postseason) is the same game, but there is more pressure, more at stake, so each pitch, each swing means a little bit more, and every at-bat could decide whether you're going to play a game tomorrow or not,” he said. “I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of good hitters around me, and coaches as well, so I think that the success that I've had, it goes to them. I thank the Lord for helping me be able to contribute in the postseason.
The pressure is a blessing, because I’ve sat at home this time of year, and it sucks – but to be in this position, it’s fabulous.”