Francisco Lindor is having a 1990s shortstop campaign

Everyone loves nostalgia. Stranger Things made us adore and fear the 1980s simultaneously. The new Woodstock ’99 documentary on Netflix has us feeling similar things about the turn of the century. What New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is accomplishing this year falls right in between those two time periods. He’s having a throwback season reminiscent of what so many others at his position did throughout a decade of power.

Unless you’ve been paying attention closely, which you have been because you eat, sleep, and breathe Mets baseball, you would never notice just how productive Lindor has been. People don’t even have to reference obscure statistics anymore to show off good he has been.

In year two with the Mets, Lindor is hitting for power, driving in runs, scoring a ton, and looking like the player fans wanted him to be from the start.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has become undeniably awesome this season

Lindor’s ability to do a lot of things well is what has made him such a vital part of the Mets lineup this year. While it’s Pete Alonso who gets the attention for his power, Daniel Vogelbach who is the most fun to watch, and Starling Marte that might be the most exciting, Lindor has all of those qualities as well.

This year, he’ll reach 100 RBI. He may even have an outside shot at getting to 30 home runs although he’d need to go a little nuts in order to get there.

Depending on how you look at it, Lindor could have a career-year. He won’t reach the 38 home runs he had in 2018. He won’t hit .313 like he did as a rookie in 2015. He’ll still do a lot of things well and push himself toward having one of the better campaigns of his career and among all shortstops in 2022.

Exactly what hasn’t Lindor done well in 2022? Now with his batting average at a more than respectable level, it’s harder look at him so unfavorably. Many of us tend to forget he is right there in the class of top shortstops in the league among Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and others. Maybe the biggest difference is those three either are either headed toward free agency after this year or already have dipped their cleats in those waters already. The excitement of signing a free agent player can sometimes distract us from the more permanent players on a roster.

For some final high praise for Lindor, he’s having the kind of season Cal Ripken Jr. did often in his best seasons. Still just 28, fans in New York can rest easy. The trade and subsequent massive contract are working out.