Francisco Lindor and Gio Urshela are best friends, but now, they are also crosstown foes.
Lindor just signed a 10-year mega-contract to become the new face of the Mets franchise, while Urshela is beginning his third year with the Yankees after breaking out as one of the faces of the team's "Next Man Up" crew of 2019.
Now that both will be in New York for at least the near future, the two have to discuss what it will be like to be big city rivals in addition to close friends since the duo came up through Cleveland's system together.
"We haven't really talked about it," Lindor said while talking to CC Sabathia and John Jastremski on the latest R2C2 podcast. "He's my brother. I love the guy. I just love competing against him. I love taking hits away from him, and he's going to try and do the same to me."
Lindor has already robbed Urshela of a hit in the past, making a full extension diving stop to steal a hit from Urshela during the 2019 season, which resulted in some playful antics from both parties, but when it comes to gaining a competitive edge, there's no messing around.
"If I ask him about a pitcher, he won't tell me," Lindor said. "He won't tell me s--t. I'm like 'bro,' and he's like 'no man, I'm not telling you s--t.' That's respect right there. I love that. He's the ultimate competitor.
The two won't have as many common pitching opponents this season now that Lindor is over in the National League, but they will now share the stage of one of the biggest interleague rivalries in all of baseball when the Subway Series takes over New York.
"He's going to go out there and have fun and I'm going to do the same thing," Lindor said. "That's why I try to take every hit from him because he's not going to give me s--t."
Lindor and Urshela work out together in the offseason, and after playing with Urshela for years in Cleveland, Lindor isn't surprised at all that Urshela has blossomed into an impact player for the Yanks.
"He's always been able to do what he's doing right now," Lindor said. "He's a defensive player first, but he can always hit. He needed to find a place to work that was going to work for him. Cleveland was a good spot for him, but once he got the chance, he got hurt. Then he was fighting for the chance…once he went to New York and he gave him that chance, he capitalized on that."
Urshela made an impact for Cleveland in 2017, getting a big RBI single off CC Sabathia in game five of the 2017 ALDS, a game the Yankees eventually won to erase a 2-0 series deficit. But Urshela never found an everyday role there or with the Blue Jays, but when the Yanks were steamrolled with injuries in 2019, he made the most of his chance, posting an .889 OPS and proving it was no fluke by logging an .858 OPS with sparkling defense last season.
"He loves the vibe of New York," Lindor said. "He's a quiet guy, but he thrives on people screaming and cheering him. He thrives on people doubting him. I never doubted he was going to do what he was doing right now…He had room to make mistakes, and when he made mistakes, people didn't care, because they weren't expecting anything. Then all of a sudden, this kid can't stop hitting, and this kid can't stop making plays. Next thing you know, he's big time."
Urshela got the last laugh last season, launching a grand slam in game two of the Wild Card Series to help the Yanks come back to win the game and sweep the series to send Lindor home, and if Lindor wants a chance at revenge, it will have to be in the World Series, in what would be the first Subway Series fall classic since 2000.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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