Mets fans may have their first early sign of great things to come this season. All-Star shortstop Franciso Lindor was captured during the Mets spring training intrasquad game Friday evening tossing a ball up to a fan. After the ball, unfortunately, went through a tunnel, Lindor ran through said tunnel to retrieve the ball for the young fan.
Immediately after making sure the fan gets the ball, Lindor stepped back into the batters circle. Once he got to the plate, Lindor hit a bomb deep to right field that got the whole crowd at the Mets Port St. Lucie Spring Training stadium rocking.
To say there are big expectations for Lindor this season would be an understatement. After his first year in Gotham, Lindor's season was one full of ups and downs, but was overall disappointing. One of the biggest downs of Lindor included moments when the former Gold Glover was booed by his own home crowd, something he and other Mets players didn't like too much.
When speaking to the media Wednesday, Lindor acknowledges that while he believes he had some good performances last season, he was inconsistent at times, leading to bad batting slumps.
"To be honest, if we talk about last year I didn’t feel as if I was slumping,” Lindor said. “I wasn’t hitting, obviously, the numbers weren’t there, but I felt like I was having good days. I was just inconsistent. I wasn’t consistent every day so it led to a [.182], I think I hit in the first month. I just wasn’t consistent."
Lindor also assured reporters that he has buried the hatchet with Jeff McNeil who he went to blows with after Lindor was furious with McNeil's constant mistakes on shifts as well as his "dismissive" attitude. This led to an angry Lindor grabbing McNeil by the throat in the dugout and pinning him up against a wall in the tunnel. The altercation was eventually broken up by teammates before things escalated.
“This is something that is in the past,” Lindor said. “Me and McNeil, we have been good ever since then. We continue to play the game as hard as we can and ultimately we’re two competitors that want to win. We want to do whatever it takes to win.”
We'll see if this clip is any indication of how the Mets will look on Opening Day against the Nationals. Steve Cohen has been as committed as any owner across the league to build a winner with the additions on the roster.
With the hiring of experienced manager Buck Showalter to helm this season's revamped roster, the Mets are in win-now mode while trying to keep pace with the Phillies, who are also trying to build a contender. You of course have the champs themselves, the Atlanta Braves, who look to retool with the addition of Matt Olson after parting ways with Freddie Freeman.
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