New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates after hitting a RBI single in the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
While the 2024 Mets season has been anything but ordinary, there has been one relative constant that has guided the team all the way to the NLCS: Francisco Lindor hitting at the top of the lineup.
Entering the regular season, Lindor had been penciled in as New York’s number three hitter. It made sense as he was coming off two great seasons in the third spot and figured to be the team’s best overall hitter – a title generally reserved for the three hole (advanced stats be damned).
The season, however, did not begin as planned for the Mets which included an 0-5 start.
Meanwhile, during the team’s early struggles Lindor, still batting third and known as a player that typically starts slow, got off to one of the worst starts of his career, batting below .200 for almost two months.
The final straw came on May 17 in an 8-0 loss to the Miami Marlins who weren’t predicted to be a competitive team in 2024 (they finished 62-100, last place in the NL East). The next day, after discussing it with Lindor, manager Carlos Mendoza made the decision to move his shortstop from the three spot to leadoff.
“It’s not a secret we were struggling offensively as a team,” Mendoza said. “I remember it was after a tough loss in Miami, we were going back to the hotel and I was right next to Francisco and we were having a lot of conversations and then the lineup construction came up and I put it out there, just wanted to give him a different look and I wanted to get his take.
“First thing he said was, ‘Yeah when I first came up to the league I hit leadoff’. So we continued to have that conversation and the one thing that he said was ‘if you’re gonna do it, let’s give it a good look here’. We didn’t want it to be a couple of games or a week or so, let’s give it a run and see how it goes.”
Things didn’t change right away, though, as the Mets lost nine of their last 11 games culminated by a sweep from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. It was during that time where New York had its now-famous players-only meeting that helped turn the season around.
After falling to a season-low 11 games below .500, the Mets began their climb – led by Lindor atop the lineup. In fact, even during that 2-9 stretch right after the lineup change, Lindor had gotten red-hot at the plate.
From there, New York finished with the best record in baseball and punched its ticket to the postseason on the final day of the regular season.
So, what changed with the rest of the lineup?
“[Lindor] took off and it seems like the lineup kind of fed off that,” Mendoza said
