Francisco Lindor did his best to become embraced by New York Mets fans. He showed up to spring training with blue hair! What else must a man do to receive nothing but unconditional love?
Well, there’s a lot. You can hit. You can put up MVP numbers. You can lead the team to a championship all while leading the clubhouse there, too.
Like him or not, Lindor hasn’t lived up to his end of the lofty contract. Fortunately, it’s year one! He is still adjusting to New York; something all of us non-New Yorkers typically have to do whenever we visit. It’s similar to jetlag without the watch resetting.
There’s no hindsight look back as to whether the Mets made the right decision to extend him. They certainly did. They had no other choice. Instead of front office buyer’s remorse, I’m curious if there’s any signer’s remorse on Lindor’s behalf.
The Mets fans haven’t been what Francisco Lindor bargained for
From the first boos he heard from the fans, something about the Big Apple seemed to eat away at Lindor. I guess he wasn’t used to this. He probably grew up receiving nothing but praise for his baseball abilities. He was the kid on the team that batted .896 in little league and the only time he ever made an out was when a booger-eater in right field got lucky with a catch.
When the big fish from smaller ponds all hop into the ocean called Major League Baseball, they’re suddenly not as untouchable anymore. Lindor has had years to experience it. Apparently, it wasn’t until 2021 when he heard it from the hometown fans.
Lindor was outspoken from the start about the boos and how much he didn’t like them. He took it a step too far by giving the fans a thumbs down and convince teammates to join in. We don’t know for sure who the mastermind behind this devious plot to finish the season with Citi Field empty. His participation is enough culpability for him to receive a harsh sentence.
But enough about digits on a hand. The Mets and Lindor are going to be together for a good number of years. The sense I get: Lindor probably wishes it was somewhere a little more pleasant.