Now 43 games into his Mets’ tenure, Francisco Lindor continues to struggle at the plate, slashing .185/.290/268, all well below his career numbers.
And after the All-Star shortstop signed a 10-year, $341 million contract just before Opening Day, some Mets fans haven’t been very patient in waiting for Lindor to break out of his early funk.
Lindor has heard the boos from the Citi Field crowd and says he understands that fans want results, but that doesn’t make it any more enjoyable.
“Getting booed sucks, man. It’s not fun. It’s a lonely feeling, especially when it’s your home crowd,” Lindor said. “But with that being said, they want results, and there’s not one person in this world that expects more results than myself. They want results and so do I. I want the results more than they do.
“I think they’re booing because of the results. I don’t think it’s that they don’t like me. I think it’s because of the results, because when I come to the dugout and I have a baseball in my hand, they all go crazy but it’s the same person who’s booing me. I’m starting to understand this.”
Lindor has had plenty of success during his major league career, earning four All-Star nods along with two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.
And he knows that the game of baseball is all about ebbs and flows, saying it’s “a hard game and a very humbling game.”
“In order to be successful in life, you’ve got to believe in the process,” Lindor. “You’ve got to understand that with ups there comes downs, and with downs there comes ups. It is what it is, man. I would love to be on a really high note right now for a very, very long time, but that’s not the case. I feel like my season has been extremely inconsistent when it comes to the offensive side of the game. But I’m working as hard as I can, doing everything that I can. … I’m working extremely hard. I can’t wait to have results.”
Lindor said that he still hasn’t been getting his barrel to the baseball the way he wants to, but he’s feeling better about where he is with his swing.
He’ll have a chance to take another step forward on Saturday night as the Mets face the Atlanta Braves.