Lindor hoping to build legacy as an all-time Mets great
— as it will also for players such as Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo. As for the second question, Lindor left no doubt. He cares about his Mets legacy quite a bit.
“Yeah, if I stay healthy,” Lindor said. “I’m a big believer that you do things little by little and eventually they stack up. You build a wall with one brick at a time and I go slow, slow. Hopefully, I can continue to build a wall, because I take so much pride in what I do and how I get it done that I would love, toward the end of my career, if I can acknowledge, ‘Man, I gave you everything,’ and then saying, ‘I’m out.’ That would be the utmost besides winning the championship. If I can have the [championship] trophy and that [great Mets career], then I can say, ‘[Mets owners] Steve [Cohen], Alex [Cohen], [expletive], we did this.”
Lindor’s relationship with ownership diverges from that of Beltran, whose history with the Wilpons was chilly, not chummy. Lindor recalls a phone call he received from Steve Cohen when he was in a slump during his problematic 2021 Mets debut season. Lindor said the Mets’ owner told him: “‘Hey, I have bad days at the office too, it’s OK.’ I was like, man, this guy is calling me when I am like 0-for-25, and we talked baseball for three minutes and his job for a lot more than that.”
There is a sense, in fact, that Lindor is akin to an untitled assistant GM, having grown close and gotten the ear of Steve and Alex Cohen, whose parents and Lindor are from the same town in Puerto Rico, Caguas.
To that Lindor said: “I would say that Steve Cohen is a gatherer; he gathers information. Whether he uses the information I give him or not, is his decision. The same with Alex.
“But from what I have seen over the years is, ‘Hey, this is what I think.’ They listen to it and some things you see and some things come out the opposite of what I said. And that is fine. That is gathering information and making the decision based on what they think is best for the organization, not for one player. And I love that.”
Lindor said as a young player in Cleveland, he didn’t have the seniority to have the same voice. Over time, however, he developed an open-door, call-anytime policy with president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona. Lindor said with experience he has become more comfortable offering his thoughts.
But Lindor insisted his concentration is not on the front office. He finished ninth in the NL MVP balloting last year, but is disappointed he was not even one of three NL Gold Glove finalists at shortstop. Lindor said his 107 RBIs were a reflection of teammates getting on in front of him and that he needs to raise his batting average from .270 to capitalize even more. He is thinking what he has to do — building the wall.
“I have to see more pitches, I have to get on base more, I have to be a better teammate,” Lindor said. “I want to be someone that can be counted upon every day.”
It is one brick at a time for Lindor. Will he construct an all-time Mets career?
PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets’ reconnection to their history under owner Steve Cohen will mean an increased alumni presence in spring training.
David Wright, Edgardo Alfonzo, Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Howard Johnson, John Franco and Al Leiter comprise the roster of guest instructors the team will bring to camp, according to manager Buck Showalter.
Wright will be present March 1-2; Alfonzo and Strawberry from March 2-6; Wilson and Johnson from March 5-10; and Franco and Leiter from March 20-27.
A notable absentee will be Mike Piazza, who is managing Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Franco’s appearance at camp will be his first in several years. Johnson returned to the Mets family last season, following a rift with the previous regime that had kept him separated from the franchise following his firing as the team’s hitting coach after the 2010 season.
Showalter indicated he plans to utilize Wright to work with rookies Brett
Baty and Mark Vientos at third base. But Wright has other commitments that will prevent him from staying longer than two days.
➤ Joey Lucchesi and Dominic Hamel are the Mets’ scheduled starting pitchers for an intrasquad scrimmage Friday at Clover Park. The game is expected to last about five innings.
“We’re rehearsing for an event,” Showalter said, referring to the split-squad Grapefruit League opener Saturday.
➤ The home opener against the Marlins is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. Saturday, according to Showalter, so he and his staff will be able to attend both games. The other half of the squad will face the Astros in West Palm Beach, beginning at 1:05 p.m.