Ranking Francisco Lindor's first 20 NY Mets games in all 6 seasons

The New York Mets have lost nine games in a row for the first time in over two decades, and they now have a dreadful 7-13 record, dead-last in the entire National League. There are plenty of people to blame for the terrible start, but it makes some sense to start with Francisco Lindor, who is off to another frigid start to a regular season, as he's almost always done in a Mets uniform.

Lindor is now hitting .200 through 20 games, and he's made a series of uncharacteristic mental miscues that have left Mets fans furious. His on-base percentage looked very solid for a week or two, but now it has dipped down to .297. In sum, not much at all is going right for Lindor so far in 2026.

The crazy part is, this isn't even Lindor's worst or second-worst 20-game start to a season over his 6-year tenure with the Mets. When you stack it up against Lindor's other starts, it falls towards the middle of the list. Here's what that list looks like, starting with Lindor's best 20-game start as a Met, and ending with his absolute worst.

Ranking Francisco Lindor's first 20 games of each Mets season (from best to worst)

1. 2022 (best 20-game start):
.273/ .360/ .494/ .853 with 21 hits, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 13 K, 3 SB

This makes sense, doesn't it? After a horrid start to his debut Mets season the year prior (more on that later), a 28-year-old Lindor was much more comfortable in Queens to begin his sophomore campaign.

2. 2023:
.233/ .360/ .507/ .866 with 17 hits, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 22 K, 2 SB

Lindor's .360 on-base percentage through the first 20 games of '23 was identical to his first 20 games of '22, but he was slugging and driving in runs a bit more this time around. However, Lindor's 22 strikeouts are the most he's ever tallied through 20 games in a Mets jersey. Yikes.

3. 2025:
.250/ .308/ .375/ .683 with 20 hits, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 14 K, 2 SB

A .683 OPS might look bleak, but just wait until you see what comes next on the list. Lindor's 2025 start is the last on this list that can't be called terrible. His 20 hits through the first 20 games of '25 trail only his tally of 21 at the start of 22.

4. 2026:
 .200/ .297/ .313/ .610 with 16 hits, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 16 K, 2 SB

Right here, right now! The most unfortunate aspect of Lindor's start this season is his RBI count. One is the loneliest number. Hope you had fun explaining that to Steve Cohen, Francisco!

5. 2021:
.194/ .314/ .250/ .564 with 14 hits, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 10 K, 0 SB

Lindor's debut campaign in Queens -- also the only 20-game start of Lindor's Mets career in which he didn't steal a single base. Francisco must have really been going through it mentally during this stretch, especially after signing a $341 million extension and perhaps feeling like he needed to validate it right away. He did the opposite over his first 20 games, and while Lindor may have been thinking, "It can't get worse than this," he was, in fact, wrong.

6. 2024 (rock bottom):
.181/ .274/ .289/ .563 with 15 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 11 K, 1 SB

Forget about the two home runs; they don't come close to perfuming the stench of a .181 batting average and a .274 on-base percentage. This was the worst 20-game start of Lindor's Mets career, and it caused Carlos Mendoza to make a dramatic change, moving Lindor to leadoff (a move which proved fruitful).

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