Keith: Francisco Lindor cemented himself as one of the 'kings' of New York sports
Keith McPherson coined the "Make it Happen Mets" mantra, and he says nobody embodies that name more than Francisco Lindor.
Battling an ailing back, the Mets shortstop turned a potential all-time and all-too-familiar collapse into one of the greatest wins in franchise history, blasting a two-run home run in the ninth inning to turn a 7-6 deficit into an eventual 8-7 win to clinch a playoff spot.
"The guy does it again," Keith said. "In the biggest moment, he puts the team on his back and the city on his back. This is his best season as a Met. He literally powered them to wins. He spoke up at team meetings. He became the leadoff hitter and stole bases. He played every day at shortstop. He led the way.
"Even with pain in his back, he put the team on his back."
The two-run blast was Lindor's 33rd of the season, and none of them were bigger than the last one, easily his most memorable home run as a Met. His 2024 regular season finished much differently than how it started, as he went from a slumping disappointment to a likely MVP runner-up, and in Keith's eyes, one of the top stars in New York sports.
"Francisco Lindor, at this moment, you can't say that people aren't putting him on that throne after what he did [Monday]," Keith said. "As of right now, what he did for the Mets fans…he's up there with [Jalen] Brunson and [Aaron] Judge.
"There's three kings…you can rank them however you wanna rank them."
