With Francisco Lindor now under contract with the Mets for the next 11 years, he will still be with the team in his age 38 season.
How does the superstar shortstop envision himself as a player by then, more than a decade after he makes his New York debut?
"I'll be bad motherf'er," Lindor said. "That's it. That's all I got to tell you."
Lindor spoke with reporters on Thursday for the first time since agreeing to a 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets, as the team locked up their new face of the franchise just before his self-imposed negotiating deadline of Opening Day. But now that a deal is done, Lindor is ready to prove he was worth the price.
"I'm very proud of my game, and this right here," Lindor said, pointing to the Mets logo on the front of his shirt. "This logo means a lot. I have to go out there every single day and defend it and play as hard as I can for this, for what I have on my chest…I have 341 million reasons for me to play the game the right way."
Those 341 dollars were of course a big factor, a compromise after he asked for 12 years and $385 million, but Lindor also spoke highly of the Mets as a whole under new owner Steve Cohen, who he was able to come to terms on a deal with after reportedly being $60 million apart in contract negotiation talks just hours before coming to an agreement.
"The group of guys and girls we have in the clubhouse on a daily basis…they want to win, they want to improve and get better every single day," Lindor said. "That says a lot. Yes, we have a good team, but they want to get better to win this championship, and not just one. That's what I look at in a franchise."
Now, the franchise will be looking at Lindor to return on its investment and get the Mets back to World Series contention, something the fanbase has been starved for since 1986, save for a 2015 outlier that never resulted in further tastes of the Fall Classic. Lindor has come close himself, reaching the World Series the year after the Mets with Cleveland, which fell in a painful game seven loss to the Cubs. Lindor now has 11 years to complete his goal with his new team, who is also looking to erase a frustrating title drought.
"I'm excited to compete every single day with teammates, go out there and win a lot of games and at the end of the day, whether it's zero dollars or the amount I got, I have to play the game the right way," Lindor said. "Whether you're 10 years old and not getting paid or 40 years old and getting a lot of money, I have to respect my teammates, respect the people around me…and respect the name on the front of my jersey."
First will come Lindor's introduction, which he hopes will come Saturday after the Mets' season opener against the Nationals was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Washington clubhouse. Whenever the year begins for the Mets, they will be led out of the dugout by their new smiling face of the franchise.
"Here we go, baby. Here we go," Lindor said. "We have 11 years together. I can't wait. I can't wait to be at Citi Field and representing this organization. I can't wait…to bring a championship to the city."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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