Mets playoff berth helps Francisco Lindor in the MVP race but it isn’t a requirement

How necessary is it for the New York Mets to make the playoffs when it comes to Francisco Lindor and the MVP race? Ron Darling is convinced a playoff spot for the Mets is a must for it to happen.

Lindor’s MVP case remains one of the most hotly discussed topics among Mets fans. Any weakness in Shohei Ohtani’s statistics this season are often pointed out. Sometimes cherry picked a little too extensively, voters will have to decide whether they’re casting for the player with the best numbers or the one who truly is the most valuable to his team.

In the case of the Mets making it to the postseason or not, the difference could be a single game. If the team wins 89 games and isn’t in the playoffs, does it really make any difference for Lindor’s MVP cause if they win 88 and do?

Mets MVP candidate Francisco Lindor will hope to avoid landing on an even rarer list

Lindor is also attempting to become only the 13th player in MLB history to win the MVP in a year where he wasn’t an All-Star. The first was Hank Greenberg way back in 1935 when the All-Star Game was still young. A fantastic second-half along with his annual All-Star snubbing (this year being the most egregious) have him fixing to add his name to this list.

What about this, has there been an MVP who wasn’t an All-Star and missed the playoffs? We don’t have to look too far to find the last player who experienced this. In 2021, Bryce Harper wasn’t an All-Star or on a playoff team. The Philadelphia Phillies missed the postseason despite employing the league’s MVP and the Cy Young runner-up, Zack Wheeler.

A strange achievement, it’s one Lindor would rather avoid landing on because it would mean the Mets missed the playoffs. In the past, this was much more achievable with limited playoff teams. In today’s expanded playoff world where six teams get in, it’s much more difficult to achieve.

Before Harper, Robin Yount on the 1989 Milwaukee Brewers had the unique distinction of winning an MVP without being an All-Star and missing the playoffs. The Brewers were 81-81 and 8 games back in the American League East where they previously called home.

Would voters really potentially wait until the very last day of the season to make their decision on whether they vote for Lindor, Ohtani, or someone else? Ohtani shouldn’t get punished the same way Lindor doesn’t need to be rewarded based on whether the Mets make the postseason or not. This is an individual award.

Players have routinely won the MVP on bad teams. It never stopped Mike Trout. Andre Dawson on the 1987 Chicago Cubs who finished in sixth place out of six teams in the NL East had no problem taking it either. He did lead the league in home runs and RBI.

There is no wrong choice for the NL MVP if it comes down to Lindor or Ohtani. Things out of Lindor’s control, like blown games by the bullpen or an absence of help from the lineup, shouldn’t matter nearly as much as his personal contributions.