Mets: Francisco Lindor already showing his leadership skills

New York Yankees, Francisco Lindor
Aug 3, 2020; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

With the Cleveland Indians, shortstop Francisco Lindor was one of the clubhouse leaders, with everything that implied: trying to get the best out of his teammates, injecting them with the same energy level he has, and pulling together for one common objective. In his first few weeks with the New York Mets, the All-Star infielder hasn’t changed.

According to Mets’ manager Luis Rojas, Lindor came into the clubhouse on Monday morning all amped up about the team’s first spring training game. He loves baseball and wants everyone around him to just enjoy the game.

“[Everyone] was laughing, and somebody said, ‘Yeah, let’s go!’” Lindor said per MLB.com. “Usually it’s early, 7:30 in the morning, Spring Training, not everybody’s hyped up. It was good.”

During the Mets’ 2-0 loss against the Miami Marlins, Lindor went 0-for-2, but even though he couldn’t get anything going in his first game with his new team, his impact has already been felt.

“The abilities, you expect what we’ve seen,” Rojas said. “But now his leadership skills, it’s been more than I expected, because he’s done it so early. … His outgoingness, that’s the thing that’s really impressed me the most. He’s done it in the best way you can imagine.”

His Mets’ teammates already love him

So far, the new Mets’ shortstop has been an outgoing figure un the clubhouse. He has blue hair, has rocked a vintage Mets’ jacket, has showed enormous amounts of energy, and has hyped his teammates in the process.

But there is more to that than just flair. Every day since camp started, he has been getting his work on the field very early, even mentoring JD Davis, who is supposed to play to his right at third base, on how to play good defense.

“You feed off of it right away,” Davis said. “Knowing that caliber of player, that type of player is wanting to get better, and is so focused on the details, it’s like, ‘Why aren’t you doing it?’ It comes with a little bit of a humble pie in that you should be getting extra work in, you should be working on this, you should be working on that.”