Port St. Lucy – Francisco Lindor smiled and repeated.
“I have to play well in April,” Lindor said this week. “I have to play a lot in April, so that's it.”
The Mets shortstop finished second in the NL MVP poll, but he wasn't an All-Star, but came out of the incredible season in which he finished second.
For some reason, Lindor has never been to Midsummer Classic in his four years at Mets, and part of the issue last year was his late start.
He hit just .197 with .639 OPS in March and April (including a 31-1 pair up until the season). This meant that his year-end numbers were far better than his first half stats.
Linder arrived at camp with the goal of building slowly, not necessarily to start quickly. After a low injury that occurred in Game 147 last season, he was hoping to be progressive in preparing his body for the long season this spring, at the time he was appearing in all 147 games.
“I came to spring training thinking I wasn't ready to go from day one. [of spring training]Lindor said. “I'm pacing myself.”
He played in five Grapefruitreug matches, but not in a row yet. This reached March 2nd last year.
A slight extension of the ramp for daily play is Lindor's only minor prep change this year. Due to his career, he was a relatively slow starter – his .753 OPS in March and April is his worst season split – but he generally starts a much better campaign than last year.
Health and a faster start corrects one of the idiosyncraticities of Lindle's tenure at Queens.
“Hopefully,” Linder said of finally cracking his fifth All-Star Game. “I understand.”
