New York Mets' Francisco Lindor Still Persevering Through Broken Finger
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MIAMI - Don't look now, but Francisco Lindor is heating up at the plate again.
The New York Mets' shortstop is slashing .300/.300/.567 with two home runs, seven RBIs and three runs scored across his last seven contests. He has also recorded three straight multi-hit games, while slugging his 12th homer of the season, picking up two doubles and driving in four runs during this span.
But what has been even more remarkable has been his ability to stay on the field, despite dealing with a fractured middle finger.
Lindor's last hot streak lasted from mid-May until the first few days of June, and saw him produce a 10-game RBI streak (second longest streak in franchise history) and capture National League Player of the Week honors. But prior to the Mets' 10-game west coast road trip, Lindor fractured the tip of his right middle finger after he caught it in the double doors of his hotel suite in Los Angeles on the evening of June 1, which was the night before the Mets' pivotal four game series with the Dodgers.
Surprisingly, this ailment has only caused him to miss a total of one game, which came the following day. But it is something that has admittedly bothered him throughout the entire month.
So what has he learned about himself regarding his pain tolerance and ability to push through this major discomfort?
“Be careful with double doors," Lindor joked after Friday's 5-3 win at LoanDepot Park, in which he hit a home run, double and drove in four runs off NL Cy Young candidate Sandy Alcantara.
Beyond that, Lindor mostly downplayed what could be looked at as an extreme act of toughness.
"It’s just a finger, there are people out there who have bigger problems in life," Lindor said. "As long as I can stay on the field, I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
But that doesn't mean what he is doing has gone unnoticed.
“That's a good point," manager Buck Showalter said when asked if he thinks Lindor's ability to play through the pain has had an impact on the rest of the clubhouse. "He played about two or three weeks with a crack on the end of his finger. Not so much hitting, but think of fielding the baseball with your glove hand and the ball takes a bad hop and hits the end of your throwing hand. I shook hands with him a couple weeks ago and I could tell it was still painful if you grabbed him right."
"This is a tough guy," he added. "You want it to be part of your DNA. This sport challenges you physically every day.”
As for Lindor, he is all for setting an example in the room.
“That wasn’t my intent, but if that’s how (my teammates) view it, I love that. Let it grind, we all got problems and if we can find a way to stay on the field, we’re gonna do it.”
Although it has been 25 days since his injury, Lindor confirmed that his finger, which has seen his entire nail turn dark purple, is still broken. He thinks his nail will fall off at some point, but is learning how to deal with it. Fortunately for Lindor, the finger, while still broken, has improved a bit as well.
“It turned the corner and I feel much better, even though it took me a while," he said.
The Mets are a National league-best 47-26 on the season. Lindor, who is fourth in baseball with 56 RBIs is a big reason why the team is off to such a strong start in 2022. The club is fortunate that their $341 million shortstop has been willing and able to manage a difficult injury by playing through it, as opposed to succumbing to the pain and landing on the IL.
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