Pete Alonso\u2019s return<\/a>. \u201cI think next time you\u2019ve got to give the pitcher a little more love too. Because at the end of the day, we\u2019re trying to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\nRookie right-hander Jonah Tong had the unfortunate task of pitching to Alonso and the Orioles. Mets fans voiced their disgust at the front office for letting a homegrown hero like Alonso go in free agency by giving him a standing ovation in every at-bat, and even booing Tong when he walked the former Flushing first baseman. It was a tough spot for a rookie, and Tong handled it admirably.<\/p>\n
The nearly 33-year-old Lindor has long preached playing for each other and sticking together as a team. Giving Tong credit as he did publicly shows he means it.<\/p>\n
Tong also excelled in the face of adversity, holding Baltimore to one unearned run over six innings. It was arguably his best major league appearance to date. While some fans were up in arms about a 23-year-old being booed in favor of a visiting player, if the Mets didn\u2019t think Tong could handle the assignment, they would have shuffled the rotation to use someone like Robert Stock or Sean Manaea. The team had an off-day last week ahead of the Subway Series, so it was possible, but it was a learning experience for Tong, who will have to pitch in far more hostile environments in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets to a point where it\u2019s like, show Jonah Tong a little love that he got him out, you know?\u201d Lindor said. \u201cBut it\u2019s\u00a0a kid\u2019s game, and we have fun. We enjoy it, and it\u2019s good we see stuff like that happen. Shows that they\u00a0care for [Alonso].\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever you think about Lindor after the much-publicized rift between him and star outfielder Juan Soto, he is still crucial to the Mets\u2019 success. The Mets have already said they have no plans to replace him at shortstop next season, and he still has five more years on his contract. And whatever you think of Lindor and his injuries this season and last, he\u2019s a player you can count on to work through them and get back on the field as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
He and Soto have that in common.<\/p>\n
Plus, the way he works sets a strong example for everyone else in the clubhouse. The Mets could rely on several players under the age of 25 next season, and Lindor has always been generous with his time and tips when it comes to helping rising players. He had Mark Vientos and Brett Baty work out with him in Florida during the offseason one year; he once gave Tyrone Taylor hitting advice in a hotel room on the road. Few players understand the dynamics of the Mets and what it means to play in New York like Lindor does.<\/p>\n
In Lindor\u2019s view, everyone on a team can make each other better, and when that happens, it leads to success.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a pro. He does everything right,\u201d interim manager Andy Green said. \u201cSome of the things that don\u2019t get seen as much are his desire to celebrate everyone else\u2019s successes. Superstars that are wired that way are unbelievable to have in the clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindor and Alonso are both chasing home run No. 300. The way they\u2019re both rooting for one another to reach the milestone shows true leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Francisco Lindor has described this season as an uphill battle, the same phrase he used in 2023 when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[30159,2032,20,9,11,10,5419],"class_list":["post-347914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-francisco-lindor","tag-mets","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-pete-alonso"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}