“He’s elite. I’ve seen elite players. But he’s elite elite,” Lindor assures me, his eyes widening. “Very few people have that presence, and he’s got it. He deserves every penny.” While Lindor didn’t meddle in the recruiting process, it’s obvious that Lindor being on the squad influenced Soto’s decision. The prospect of collecting $765 million did most of the heavy lifting, but getting to play with Lindor is wildly enticing in its own right. With those two, plus a majority of the 2024 roster returning, the Mets are a darling of the baseball world, favorites to win the World Series, and about as far from the state the team was in when Cohen bought it.
With Soto in the fold now, the Mets go from a cute underdog story in 2024 to a much higher-stakes operation. “I feel good, I definitely believe that we have a postseason team,” Lindor says, nodding. “But life taught me that just because we’re good on paper, it doesn’t mean teams can’t come in and roll through us.”
While most athletes will tell you last season doesn’t matter, or isn’t predictive of things to come, that doesn’t mean what Lindor accomplished in 2024 wasn’t the stuff of legends. For example, when he clinched the Mets’ place in the playoffs with a home run in Atlanta. “As soon as I hit the ball, I remember going, ‘I don’t know,’” he says as he reimagines the ball’s flight. “Then one step after I went, ‘Mhm. I got him.’”
A little over a week later, he secured the team’s advancement to the National League Championship Series with a grand slam. Like in Atlanta, Lindor stayed ice cold, even amid a near-thermonuclear Citi Field celebration. What was running through his head at the time? “Double, breathe. Nah, home run, breathe. I got him, breathe. Drop the bat, salute the coach at first [base], then look around and be like, damn. This place is going crazy.”
Within the confines of the ball yard, there is no scenario that Lindor, a meticulous note taker, is unprepared for. This has invited chatter about him perhaps being named captain of the Mets, a symbolic but nevertheless significant title that has been bestowed upon only four players in the team’s history. “I would love it. I would accept it. I think it would be—no, I don’t think, I know it’s an honor,” Lindor says, as darkness settles over South Florida outside. “It definitely would mean something to me.” The MVP award evaded him last year, going instead to Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, and that accolade remains one of the few things Lindor hasn’t checked off the list yet. (Lindor “was definitely the MVP of the New York Mets,” Cohen quips.)
Lindor isn’t tripping over losing to Ohtani. He’s not tripping over much these days. While the Mets didn’t win it all last year, he’s not losing sleep over how things ended. He likes the team’s chances this year, and should he have a tough spell, he can take solace in his family, with whom he’s built a life that’s exceeded their most fantastical dreams.
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