New rules have Mets' Francisco Lindor loving playing shortstop again
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) throws out Oakland Athletics' Esteury Ruiz at first base during the third inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, April 16, 2023. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
LOS ANGELES — Unshackled from the rigid predictability of the fielding philosophies of the recent past, Francisco Lindor has been living his best defensive life this month — and thoroughly enjoying it.
Manager Buck Showalter described it as Lindor being in “freestyle” mode. He is putting his athleticism and instincts to better use, able to make plays as circumstances dictate.
“I love it. I love it. I love it,” Lindor said. “It’s just so much fun, that I can go to the baseball and don’t have to worry about running into anybody. I have a lot of real estate to cover and I gotta be on my toes the whole entire time, I gotta anticipate, I gotta be in the game.”
Showalter said, speaking separately but using similar language: “It’s freed him up to move around without having to worry about running into somebody, quite frankly.”
Among the rule changes implemented by MLB this year are restrictions on positioning of infielders, with teams required to have two on each side of second base for every pitch and nobody allowed to step foot on the outfield grass until the ball is hit. Gone are the days of extreme shifts and infielders standing in shallow right or left. Returned is the ability of Lindor, for example, to play a more traditional shortstop, which was long what he wanted.
For Lindor, who won Gold Gloves with Cleveland in 2016 and 2019 but has only one finalist nod in two seasons with the Mets, the advanced defensive statistics back up what he has felt and Showalter has seen.
Entering play Tuesday, Lindor had five Defensive Runs Saved. That was tied with Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for the most in majors at any position. Also, Lindor had one Outs Above Average; the leaders in that category had three.
Those numbers are subject to early-season variation like measures of hitting. But they agree with the eye test: Lindor is having an impact out there.
“He’s been playing shortstop as good as you can play it,” Showalter said. “It’s been fun to watch.”
Lindor made two standout plays Monday night to help the Mets finish on top in a back-and-forth 8-6 fight with the Dodgers.
In the second, an inning in which David Peterson had already been touched up for a couple of runs, Lindor ranged toward second base for what looked like a routine chopper off the bat of Mookie Betts. When the ball bounced oddly, higher than expected, Lindor reached up and grabbed it anyway, throwing across his body to first to record the out.
“I still don’t know how he caught that ball,” Showalter said.
In the third, Freddie Freeman similarly had a bouncer up the middle. Despite another bad hop toward the left, Lindor fielded it cleanly and threw to first to get Freeman by less than half of a step.
“The grass was playing a little different than it was in batting practice,” Lindor said. “It’s difficult because I’m charging the baseball. As I’m going forward to the ball, it takes that weird hop . . . Thankfully, I came up with the ball and made the plays.”
Showalter said: “Those [statistics] where they try to predict how many people would’ve made the play? The bad-hop chopper, that’ll be a 95%. But it’s about 20% of people make it.”
The Mets, like other teams, still make data-driven decisions about the positioning of their infielders, but these days that is more about shading one way or another as opposed to moving to what is effectively a different position.
Francisco Lindor, shortstop, largely stands at shortstop. Just the way he likes it.
“The game is faster. There’s more plays. There’s more ground that I have cover,” he said. “Before, it was two steps and a dive. And 3 1/2-hour games. I was looking around a lot. [The new rules are] good. It’s good. I think it’s good for everyone.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
