It’s no secret that Francisco Lindor‘s first season as a member of the New York Mets was a difficult one.
The 28-year-old still managed to hit 20 homers and drive in 63 runs in 2021, but he hit just .230, which is quite unlike Lindor.
But “Mr. Smile” is determined to come back stronger in 2022 and so far, he’s got Mets fans feeling pretty excited.
Mets MLB.com beat reporter Anthony DiComo tweeted some Mets statistics from spring training today.
Leading the team in home runs and RBIs was none other than Lindor himself.
Lindor drove in 11 runs during the shortened spring training and also hit four home runs.
Top Mets Grapefruit League performers:
AVG: Starling Marte, .429
OBP: Dominic Smith, .531
SLG: Dominic Smith, .846HR: Francisco Lindor, 4
RBI: Francisco Lindor, 11ERA: Tylor Megill, 0.00
K: Colin Holderman, 14— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 5, 2022
Lindor Trending Upwards
Though it was just spring training and was only a small sample size, this has to be encouraging for the Mets, their fans, and Lindor himself.
The Mets brought in Lindor via a trade with the Cleveland Guardians last year and promptly gave him a large contract extension, ten years and $341 million to be exact.
Expectations were high for both Lindor and the Mets, but he struggled, and the Mets finished 77-85, falling short of the postseason.
But if Lindor is back at full strength and rebounds from a disappointing season, the Mets could find themselves in a much better place this year in the standings.
He might just be the X-factor for this team as he tries to put last season behind him.
His solid spring training numbers are a good omen.
Now we’ll see if he can translate his success from spring training into a strong 2022 regular season and lead the Mets to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Opening Day is just a day away.
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