It’s one of those statistics that feels both significant and random at the same time.
In the May 12 episode of the SNY podcast “Baseball Night in New York,” the panel tackled whether Francisco Lindor has lived up to—or even exceeded—expectations during his time with the New York Mets, now in its fifth season. Britt Ghiroli, a senior MLB writer for The Athletic, dropped what she called “a mind-blowing stat” to underscore just how much Lindor means to the team’s success.
The Mets have won 23 consecutive games in which Lindor has hit a home run.
“Twenty-three in a row, the Mets have won. This is the longest such streak in team history,” Ghiroli stressed. “So every time Francisco Lindor homers, the Mets are going to win that game. That is remarkable, and that kind of shows that he is the epicenter of this team.”
It also feeds into what has become one of the bigger debates surrounding the Mets: Should Francisco Lindor officially be named team captain?
Francisco Lindor Provides Leadership With or Without Title of Team Captain
Over the course of their 63-year history, the Mets have rarely handed out the honor of team captain. The role has gone to just four players: Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter shared the title in the late ’80s, John Franco took it on from 2001 to 2004, and David Wright wore the badge from 2013 until 2018.
Around Major League Baseball, the tradition is just as uncommon. Only three active players currently hold the title—Salvador Pérez with the Royals, Marcus Semien with the Rangers and Aaron Judge with the Yankees. For these players, leadership is about more than stats; they set the tone in the clubhouse and on the field.
Which is why Dani Wexelman emphatically stated on the SNY podcast that Lindor deserves the title.
“We haven’t even talked about what he does in that clubhouse, right?” Wexelman noted. “Takes accountability, shows up, holds meetings. He’s the guy. His teammates love him.”
Corey Favs of Empire State of Baseball agrees, and appearing on the “Subway to Shea” podcast, Favs noted how much Lindor gives of himself to the other players in the clubhouse that shows his impact on the team goes way beyond his numbers in the scorebook.
“Even when he’s not at the plate, I love that he’s always communicating with the other players, giving them pointers, giving them tips,” Favs said. “He’s watching all the at bats, he’s watching the pitchers. He might strike out, and he’s having a conversation with the next guys up in the lineup, saying, ‘Hey, here’s a heads up, this is what you got to look out for.’ That’s exactly what you want out of a leader, and even when we saw him struggle, you know, he keeps his head up high and is a good player for the team, good morale guy. I think he’s worthy of the captain [role] for the Mets.”
Francisco Lindor Proves to be ‘The Heart and Soul of This Mets Team’
But is that role even necessary? As noted, there are only three captains among the 30 MLB teams, and Joe Demayo of SNY’s “The Mets Pod” warns that giving one player an official title could cause other veterans on the team to step back into the shadows.
“You have that room of leaders rather than just one person that is kind of designated, and I think it makes sense the way it is,” Demayo said.
“In my opinion, I don’t care about having a captain, I don’t need a captain. I don’t think the locker room actually needs it…. I think [Lindor] is just a bona fide leader in the locker room, and the Mets have multiple. Guys like Brandon Nimmo, guys like Edwin Diaz. Different leaders in the locker room. What does that do to that dynamic if you just named one of them a captain?”
And at the end of the day, Ghiroli said there is no denying the leadership role that Lindor has with the team.
“I think we can all agree, the heart and soul of this Mets team, it is Francisco Lindor,” she said.
Mets’ 23-Game Streak Proves Francisco Lindor is Team’s ‘Epicenter’