Dad-powered NY Mets is as good enough reason as any to clear your October plans

Francisco Lindor went from girl dad to plain old dad with the birth of his first son. Soon to follow will be the arrival of Pete Alonso’s first kid. Much has been made about the performance of Lindor surrounding the births of his children, previously getting red hot immediately after the arrival of his second daughter and now on the cusp of breaking free from an early slump with his son now out of the womb and into the world. Expectations for the New York Mets were already high this season. The price of diapers and natural dad motivation to provide for one’s family from their star players should only increase what we can expect from this team.

The star Mets players have gone from studs in their prime to dads seeking to finish the job

There’s a lot of unfinished business with Lindor and Alonso. It’s easy to forget how the pair have been connected. A pair of regulars in the MVP race throughout their careers, each has experienced the highs and lows of playing in New York.

Alonso jumped onto the scene with nothing but love in 2019 only to slump through the shortened 2020 campaign and come back with some vengeance in 2021. His 2021 season is easily the most forgettable because with Lindor now along for the ride, the focus of leadership and results fell onto him.

Everything came together for them both in 2022, but not after Lindor experienced what can only be classified as a huge disappointing freshman year with the Mets. The city didn’t embrace him. He fired back, acting immaturely with the still infamous thumbs down to the crowd incidents.

Winning cured all in 2022. We don’t even look at Lindor any longer and remember the poor start to his Mets career or how rocky of a relationship he had with the fans early on. Having kids can do some crazy things to a man. Already a dad upon his arrival to the Mets but only a few months into the journey, Lindor making fatherhood a part of his personality seemed to only make him a better ball player. It made him a better leader, too. No doubt he’s a better all-around human being because of it.

The same could rub off on Alonso. The instability of knowing what was next for him from this past offseason isn’t something he’ll want moving forward. It’s easy to move around a spouse. Moving a kid around is a lot more complicated. Numbers tell us about launch angles, bat speeds, and exit velos. For a game referenced as 99% mental, we sure have no way of accurately measuring anything but 1% of what to expect.

Men in their 20s and 30s have kids all the time. The difference with this year's Mets seems to be how front and center it can become, led by Lindor.

Although he’s not new to fatherhood, Jesse Winker’s comments after his big Saturday night game seems to be a running theme of this year’s team.

For a bonus thought, see Sandy Alcantara missing his latest start for the Miami Marlins against the Mets because his wife is having a baby girl.

He’s going to fit right in, ain’t he?