Francisco Lindor is making formerly bitter Mets fans look exceptionally silly

The New York Mets won a crucial game on Saturday, defeating the red-hot San Diego Padres 7-1 to remain 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL. David Peterson pitched great, but the story was once again Francisco Lindor who continued to show formerly frustrated Mets fans that he's one of the best players in the game.

Lindor launched a pair of home runs including a grand slam in the fourth inning which gave the Mets a 5-0 lead.

Lindor's two home runs gave him 27 on the year, as he continues to make the same Mets fans who called him out earlier this season eat their words. He was even serenaded with MVP chants during and after the game despite the Mets being across the country.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Francisco Lindor continues to prove he's the MVP-caliber player they traded for and extended

The first major move that Steve Cohen made as the owner of the Mets was the Lindor trade. They traded Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, and a pair of prospects for Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Just months later, before he had even played in a single regular season game as a Met, they gave him a 10-year extension worth $341 million. Ever since that deal was inked, it has felt like Mets fans have wanted him gone.

They had good reason to be frustrated with Lindor at the beginning of his Mets career. He had a brutal first two months in 2021, and the team wasn't as good as many had hoped. Since then, though, he has lived up to the billing, which has made the disdain many Mets fans had for Lindor weird.

He (somehow) has no All-Star Game appearances as a Met, but finished ninth in the NL MVP balloting in both 2022 and 2023, and with how he's playing now, he'll finish higher.

The Lindor hate from Mets fans seemingly reached an all-time high at the beginning of this season when the star shortstop began the year going 1-for-31 over his first eight games. He did, obviously, look lost at the plate, and the team got off to a slow start in large part due to his struggles. Since that slow start, though, he has been unbelievable, and it feels as if he's only getting better the deeper we get into the year.

In the 122 games he has played since the slow start, he's slashing .286/.351/.518 with 27 home runs and 77 RBI. Since being moved into the leadoff spot permanently on May 18 he's slashing .305/.376/.552 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI. Since the All-Star break, he's slashing .311/.370/.581 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI. Again, he has been phenomenal since the first week of the season, and continues to get better as the games grow in importance.

Throughout the entire year (and his Mets career), Lindor has played Gold Glove-caliber defense, has been a threat on the base paths (25 stolen bases this season), and has been remarkably durable (has played in all 130 games this season).

Overall, even with his 1-for-31 start, he's slashing .269/.341/.490 this season with 27 home runs, 78 RBI, and 25 stolen bases in 130 games. He ranks in the 99th percentile in OAA according to Baseball Savant, and has been an unbelievable leader as well.

He ranks fourth in the majors in fWAR since his Mets career began, only trailing Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Freddie Freeman. He leads the NL with 6.5 fWAR this season, and is in the top 10 of virtually every important offensive statistic in the National League. He probably won't win the MVP award over Shohei Ohtani, but he absolutely deserves to be in the conversation.

Outside of the first couple of months in 2021, Lindor has been the star everyone has been wanting him to be. Thankfully, three years later, Mets fans are starting to give this man the appreciation he deserves. The team goes as he takes them, and right now, Lindor is doing everything he possibly can to try and will them into the postseason.