Despite his terrible slump, Francisco Lindor was grateful to the Mets supporters for their standing ovation.
A group of New York Mets supporters with stars in their eyes are on one side, while Francisco Lindor is on the other, wearing a speech bubble that reads, “Thank you!”
The New York Mets have won four of their last five games, signaling a turnaround after a very poor start to the season. Though it’s hoped that a sophisticated gesture made by Mets supporters during their 6-1 triumph over the Kansas City Royals would help star shortstop Francisco Lindor get going.
It’s obvious that Lindor has been struggling because he started the season in such a terrible slump. In light of this, team owner Steve Cohen proposed that supporters give Lindor a standing ovation in order to encourage him to feel the support of the crowd despite his difficulties. As it turned out, the supporters did contribute to this game, and Lindor answered with some sincere remarks following the contest.
“I wasn’t expecting that at all. But it definitely felt good. It feels good to be able to come home and feel the love of the fans, when I’m playing well or playing bad. It fills my heart, for sure. At the end of the day, I will always be Francisco Lindor — on good or bad days. And I will always play as hard as I can and do whatever it takes to help this team win, day in and day out. Everybody that came out — thank you for the love. It doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m a better player when my heart is at a happy place,” Lindor said. “And shortstop at Citi Field, it’s my happy place.” – Francisco Lindor, MLB.com
Francisco Lindor is hopeful that the Mets fans can lift him out of his rut.
Even though Lindor had a respectable performance (1/3, 1 R, 1 BB) thanks to the encouragement of Mets fans, his season totals (.111 BA, 1 HR, 2 RBI,.407 OPS) are still somewhat low. But all it takes is one winning game to get things moving, and Lindor might have experienced that this Friday night against the Royals.
There’s no reason to think Lindor will spend the entire season in a slump, considering the output we have seen from him thus far in his career. This is a player who has recently been in the top ten of the National League MVP race twice in a row, and Lindor will eventually find his way once the rest of the Mets offense starts to click.
He was obviously touched by the supporters’ unwavering support for their star shortstop, and it is hoped that this will lead to a significant turn-around in the coming days. Lindor has a history of success, and with the support of his supporters, it wouldn’t be shocking if he started to heat up following his strong performance against Kansas City.