Francisco Lindor hits his first walk-off home run as a Met, his 250th all-time

New York Times

19-04-2025

NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor never saw where the ball landed. When they're headed for the upper deck, there's no reason to watch. Instead, Lindor stared into his dugout, walked a few steps and broke into a home-run trot, head down most of the way as thousands of others went crazy. As he rounded the bases, the man nicknamed Mr. Smile never flashed so much as a smirk. A walk-off home run. His first while wearing a New York Mets uniform. And it seemed as if he had done it dozens of times, as if it were expected.
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'It felt fantastic,' Lindor said, 'because I knew we were going to win.'
Lindor, like so many other athletes, talks plenty about 'staying in the moment.' Perhaps home run No. 250 of his career is what that looks like. After he helped lift the Mets to a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night at Citi Field, he explained how preventing the past from impacting the present has helped him avoid another slow start. Prior to the home run, Lindor was 0-for-4. This April, no one is seriously talking about him being a slow starter as a storyline. Not in the way they did last year, at least. Not after Friday. There are still 11 games left in the Mets' April, and Lindor's OPS (.717) isn't where he wants it to be, but it didn't start with a seven last year until June.
FRANCISCOOOOOOOOO #METSWIN pic.twitter.com/PlifmVCVAl
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 19, 2025
Moments like Friday showcase growth for Lindor, 31, who became the fifth shortstop in major-league history to reach 250 home runs.
'The moment is never too big for him,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'He knows what's at stake. He lives for those moments. Special player. Special person. And he came through once again.'
Inside the Mets clubhouse, Lindor, in his typical fashion, rattled off teammate after teammate in a long list of contributors for the Mets before he got his turn. He named: David Peterson (5 1/3 innings, three runs), Max Kranick (1 2/3 scoreless innings), Tyrone Taylor (triple), Pete Alonso (triple), Luis Torrens (double, RBI) and Juan Soto (single, RBI), who received an ovation from the crowd and snapped an 0-for-12 skid.
'It felt like a fantastic team win,' Lindor said. 'So at the end, when you help the team win after all the guys did all the stuff I mentioned, it felt really good.'
250th career home run: ✅First walk-off home run as a Met: ✅The ball: ✅@Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/Fsn2Tjdw0F
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 19, 2025
In that sense, it was fitting that Lindor, a leader inside the Mets' clubhouse, sealed it. It wasn't the Mets' cleanest win; they fell behind 2-0, Luisangel Acuña's overaggressive baserunning could've cost them, and Huascar Brazobán blew the save in the ninth by allowing a solo home run before settling down and recording three straight strikeouts. From there, though, the Mets (13-7) just needed Lindor, who led off the bottom of the ninth by ending the game. After he connected, he thought, 'We won, we get to go move. I'm done with this cold weather.' He stayed composed. Present, to use his word.
It wasn't until after he met his teammates at home plate that he allowed himself a smile.