With the National League MVP debate still in its infancy, David Stearns doesn't think Francisco Lindor's season should simply be compared to Shohei Ohtani's.
How about Lindor in 2024 vs. David Wright in 2007? Or Carlos Beltran in 2006? Or Bernard Gilkey in 1996? Or John Olerud in 1998?
Stearns, in rooting for the star shortstop, set his sights higher than Lindor, outvaluing the entire 2024 National League class of his generation.
Perhaps Lindor's great season should be measured by whether he managed to slay the ghosts of the franchise's past and orchestrate the greatest season ever by a Mets position player.
“I think we're at the point where we're talking about maybe the greatest individual position player season in franchise history,” the Mets' president of baseball operations, a longtime Mets fan and familiar with franchise history, said before Tuesday's game against the Red Sox at Citi Field. “I've been present for some really special seasons, some MVP seasons, but this is up there with the ones I see on a day-to-day basis.”
The numbers on the back of Lindor's baseball cards are solid but not spectacular.
He had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 home run, 1 double, 3 RBIs, and 1 stolen base, for a batting average of .273, an on-base percentage of .343, an OPS of .843, 30 home runs, and 26 stolen bases.
What's even more impressive is his consistency – he has never missed a game – and his impressive defense in key positions.
His on-field contributions totaled 6.2 wins replaceable, second only to Ohtani (7.1) in the National League, as determined by Baseball-Reference magazine. Though he has about a month of games left to improve on that total, Lindor's 6.2 was the 18th-best mark in franchise history.
By this standard, the Mets' best season was Wright's 2007 season.
The third baseman was an All-Star, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger award winner and finished fourth in MVP voting with a .325 batting average, .963 OPS, 30 home runs, 107 RBI and 34 stolen bases.
The other candidates vying for the Mets' Most Valuable Player of the Season award are:
- In 2006, Beltran put up an 8.2 WAR as an outfielder with a phenomenal offensive season (.982 OPS, 41 home runs, 18 stolen bases).
- In 1996, Gilkey had a great season as a left fielder, with a WAR of 8.1, an OPS of .955, a batting average of .317, 30 home runs, and 117 RBIs.
- In 1998, Olerud had an impressive batting average of .354, an OPS of .998 and an on-base percentage of .447 as a first baseman, while hitting 22 home runs and posting a WAR of 7.6.
- In 1996, outfielder Lance Johnson made just one All-Star appearance and posted a 7.2 WAR with a .333 batting average, a major league-high 21 triples, an .841 OPS and just 40 strikeouts in 160 games.
The Mets have had plenty of special seasons but never used an MVP, Mike Piazza had a poor defensive reputation and struggled hitting before the NL DH rule limited catchers' playing time to a maximum of 141 games per season.
Mets players have finished second in MVP voting three times — Darryl Strawberry in 1988, Keith Hernandez in 1984 and Tom Seaver in 1969 — and perhaps Lindor can accomplish something no Mets player has ever accomplished before.
Ohtani's offensive output — a .993 OPS, 44 homers and 46 stolen bases entering Tuesday's games — is far superior to Lindor's numbers (.835, 29 and 25, respectively). But voters will have to decide whether Lindor (or someone like the Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, the Reds' Elie de la Cruz or the Phillies' Bryce Harper) can compensate with subpar defense while Ohtani serves exclusively as a DH while recovering from elbow surgery. Another candidate, Marcell Ozuna of the Braves, also won't play in the field.
Mets insiders will point not just to Lindor's numbers and defensive prowess, but also to the intangibles that have helped stabilize a team that was in danger of going off track.
It was Lindor who called the closed-door team meeting on May 29 that prompted a sense of responsibility for a team that was 11 games under .500.
“I think that's part of the whole thing he brings to the table,” said Stearns, who watched Christian Yelich win the National League MVP with the Brewers in 2018. “What he does on the field is easy to quantify, and it's really impressive.” [It is] The impact of both his words and actions is much harder to quantify.
“He works so hard and takes so much pride in his own preparation, but he also makes sure his teammates are properly prepared. I think that's why he's such a great contributor to the team because of all of that.”
Stearns, whose main job is to identify values for his team, was asked what the best player is to him.
“He looks like a guy who's going to be running in at shortstop at 7 p.m.,” Stearns said.
