FLUSHING, NY — “Thank you for the love. It doesn’t go unnoticed… I’m a better player when my heart is in a happy place,” said Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor following New York’s 6-1 victory over Kansas City on Friday night at Citi Field — an evening that included an Amazin’ crowd of 18,822 fans, showing love and support for the four-time All-Star, by welcoming Lindor with a standing ovation, as he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat of the game.
“Feeling the love, it filled my heart. Trying to bring energy day in and day out.”
In his first at-bat of the homestand, @Mets fans welcome back Francisco Lindor with a warm reception here at Citi Field ⚾️💙🗽#LatinoSports #LGM #MLB pic.twitter.com/aYNbNc245D
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) April 12, 2024
As Mets team owner and CEO Steve Cohen put it, “positivity goes a long way.” Cohen, the mastermind behind the standing ovation, along with a Mets fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, brought up the suggestion last week during the team’s most recent roadstand, which got the engine rolling.
And once the idea began to circulate, fans gained steam of it, and delivered.
Love that idea . It worked in Philly with Turner . Positivity goes a long way
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) April 6, 2024
Lindor, 30, entered Friday night’s game against the Royals, hitting .098 on the young season (5-51), and was able to add 13 points by going 1-3 with a walk and run scored in the win (.111). It’s not saying much, but on the grand scheme, we are less than 20 games into the 2024 MLB regular season. So just slow your horses down when viewing an individual’s statistics, especially one that is based on such a small sample size.
Not to mention, Lindor’s career batting average in the months of March/April is .242 (the lowest for any month) — .274 in May, .246 in June, .304 in July, .297 in August, and .263 in September/October.
Though, even with the slow starts, and pressure coming from off-the-field noise, such as unwarranted hate/bashing on social media, the Caguas, Puerto Rico native is the same Francisco Lindor each and every day — a leader for his team, while leading by a example and standing up as a role-model for the youth who are watching up close, and from home.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor 🇵🇷 spending some time with fans before tonight’s game against the Royals at Citi Field ⚾️#LatinoSports #MLB #LGM pic.twitter.com/cs06QUxLpR
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) April 12, 2024
“At the end of the day, I will always be Francisco Lindor — good or bad days. I will always play as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to help this team win, day in and day out. So, everybody that came out, thank you for the love. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Regarding Cohen’s post, Lindor stated: “I saw Steve’s tweet, I saw a couple people’s tweets. But at the end of the day, you know people do whatever they want to do. It was something that I wasn’t really expecting. I know it was something out there, but when it happened (the standing ovation), when I walked up and with every at-bat, it felt really good. This is home.”
2016 American League LatinoMVP award winner Francisco Lindor is just the fourth player in Mets franchise history to join the 30-30 club (30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a given season, Lindor achieved the feat in 2023) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“I love playing here. I love playing in front of the fans here. At the end of the day, I try to put up a show day in and day out for them.”
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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Julio
April 13, 2024 at 12:56 am
Love is strong & many fans & us in Latino Sports showed a lot of love for a very down to earth player.