Francisco Lindor will finally represent the Mets in the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.
The Mets shortstop learned Wednesday night that he will don the blue and orange in this year’s Midsummer Classic, the first time Lindor will be an All-Star since 2019 with Cleveland.
It is surprising that Lindor hasn’t been an All-Star with the Mets in his five seasons in Queens, considering he was an MVP runner-up last season, which followed a 2023 campaign in which he finished with 31 home runs and 98 RBI, all while playing his typical stellar defense at the demanding shortstop position. This year, with Lindor batting .258 with a .775 OPS and 16 home runs, Lindor finally got the call.
“I was extremely happy. There was a lot of joy in my heart,” Lindor said. “I called my wife, then my sister and my mom to let them know that I was an All-Star. This is something you can’t take for granted. It’s a fantastic event. I’m honored and blessed to be somewhere near it.
“I was extremely happy and proud and ecstatic.”
Lindor will get the start at shortstop, his fifth All-Star selection, with all his other nods coming during his time in Cleveland, when he earned four straight All-Star honors. It had been a long time since then for a player of his caliber, and his family celebrated the honor in kind, waiting at home for Lindor to surprise him with custom-made signs that congratulated Lindor for punching his ticket to Atlanta.
Lindor had already done some celebrating himself, as he launched a home run and punched an RBI single in his first game since becoming an All-Star. His big game came in front of the home fans at Citi Field, and he made sure to thank those fans for voting and helping him beat out LA’s Mookie Betts for the All-Star starter spot, making Lindor the first Mets shortstop to be named an All-Star since Jose Reyes in 2011.
“I’m an All-Star because of them,” Lindor said of the fans.