As his team has climbed out of an 0-5 start to rise above .500 at 9-8 after a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday night, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has been trying to break out of an early season slump.
He was batting just .145 in 69 at-bats with only one home run and two RBI and a meager .477 OPS entering the final game of a three-game series versus the Pirates yesterday afternoon in Queens. Lindor’s statistics are well below his career marks of a .272 batting average and .810 OPS. History suggests the rough patch the 30-year-old, 10-year veteran is going through will end soon and he will gradually, maybe even rapidly, reach his batting norms.
Although the four-time All Star (2016-19) and three-time Silver Slugger Award (2017, 2018, 2023) winner’s production has uncharacteristically lagged, Mets fans have still been supportive, including giving Lindor a standing ovation at home in his first at-bat last Friday in the team’s 6-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.
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“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Lindor said following the victory in which he was 1-3 and walked once. “But it definitely felt good. It feels good to be able to come home and feel the love of the fans, when I’m playing well or playing bad. It fills my heart, for sure.
“At the end of the day, I will always be Francisco Lindor—on good or bad days. And I will always play as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to help this team win, day in and day out. Everybody that came out—thank you for the love. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Conversely and disturbingly, Lindor also expressed that his wife, Katia Reguero, had received death threats and vile messages via social media. In the face of his issues, team owner Steve Cohen, manager Carlos Mendoza and his teammates have rallied around Lindor and his family.
The Mets will begin a three-game road series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers tomorrow and then head to San Francisco to meet the Giants for three games Monday through Wednesday, before returning to Citi Field next Friday to host the St. Louis Cardinals for three games.