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Francisco Lindor becomes a Mets legend

The Mets signed Francisco Lindor to a massive 10-year extension worth $341 million shortly after acquiring him from Cleveland before the 2021 season.

He promptly had the worst season of his career, hitting .230/.322/.412 for a league-average 100 OPS+ on a Mets team that finished 77-85. Things improved in 2022 and 2023, when he posted a combined WAR of 11.6 and finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting both years, but it still felt like he was going to be Not earning a salary of $34.1 million.

The 2024 season was a different story.

After a slow start, Lindor caught fire after moving to the top of the lineup and finished the regular season hitting .273/.344/.500 for an OPS+ of 138 with 39 doubles, 33 home runs, 91 RBI and 29 steals and 7.0 WAR.

In the ninth inning of Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, which secured the Mets a hard-fought playoff spot the day before the playoffs began, he hit the game-winning two-run home run.

And on Wednesday, he delivered the big blow again in Game 4 of the NLDS, draining a grand slam off reliever Carlos Estévez and turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead.

At this point, any talk of Lindor not living up to his contract is a thing of the past.

In 26 September games, the Mets scored six or more runs a whopping 10 times, and that late-season offensive surge has continued into the postseason.

They scored 15 runs in three Wild Card Series games against the Milwaukee Brewers, then scored six, six, seven and four runs to send the Philadelphia Phillies to the NLDS.

These series also included game-winning hits against standout closers Devin Williams and Carlos Estévez, proving that no lead is safe against the Mets' offense at this point.

Lindor is far from the only one who has made a name for himself. Mark Vientos has been a breakout star from second in the lineup, Pete Alonso has hit three home runs, and Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker have each hit a home run already this postseason.

Even looking back at Lindor's game-winning grand slam on Wednesday night, it was 7-8-9 hitters Starling Marte, Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez who loaded the bases in front of him.

Things are going well right now for a Mets team riding a wave of momentum.