Mets shortstop home run record is within reach for Francisco Lindor

When Asdrubal Cabrera hit 23 home runs for the New York Mets in 2016, he set a franchise record nobody really talks about but will be referencing very soon. The 23 dingers—22 as a shortstop and 1 as a pinch hitter—set a Mets franchise record at the position.

Throughout the history of the Mets, shortstop has typically been a lighter-hitting position. Lindor is a major outlier. Now the owner of the single season RBI record at the position after a bloop hit on Sunday, next up is the home run record.

Francisco Lindor is going after all of the Mets shortstop records he can get

Whether we want to give Cabrera that extra dinger or not, Lindor is bound to hit more than 23 home runs in 2022. When he got his 82nd RBI on the season to pass Jose Reyes, Lindor already had 20 home runs—a total matching what he did in year one with the Mets in 2021.

By the end of the month, it’s not unreasonable to expect Lindor to have more home runs than any other shortstop in Mets history. We’re only halfway through it. With another entire month after to go yard and add to the total, Cabrera’s record will not only fall, it’ll get buried.

One of the more unique aspects of Lindor’s game since joining the Mets is how he has gone from a 40+ doubles guy to someone with more home runs than two-base hits. He finished last season with more home runs than doubles and looks like the same could happen again this season.

Breaking the single-season home run record for Mets shortstops might not be the most exciting way to add his name to a record book nor will it compare to what some other players have done in the recent past with the long ball. With 19 of them now as a shortstop and 1 as a DH this season, Lindor is on the verge of some mild Mets franchise history. He’ll join the ranks of Pete Alonso, Todd Hundley, and Edgardo Alfonzo among others to lead their position in home runs.

Odds are, with his contract and ability to hit home runs like no other shortstop in team history, Lindor will have many more chances to break whatever record he does end up setting this season.