Francisco Lindor is leading the Mets' charge and challenging Shohei Ohtani for NL MVP

NEW YORK (AP) — Most of this summer, the NL MVP race looked like a one-man Sho.

Francisco Lindor has turned it into a hot topic.

With his laudable leadership and everyday brilliance on both sides of the ball, the New York Mets’ streaking shortstop is giving Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani a real run for his money.

“I’m glad that I don’t have to vote,” Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said this week at Citi Field. “It’ll be interesting. The kid is doing everything.”

A proud Cora still calls the 30-year-old star “kid” because he's known Lindor and his family since Lindor was a Little Leaguer in Puerto Rico. And certainly, Mr. Smile plays ball with a refreshingly boyish joy even 10 seasons into his marvelous major league career.

But there's nothing callow about the way he's carrying the Mets during a pressurized National League playoff chase.

“Every time he’s at the plate, we feel good about our chances,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s locked in right now.”

“He's got a hard job. Playing shortstop for the New York Mets is not an easy job,” Mendoza added. "And the way he’s doing it on an elite level, both sides of the ball, whether it’s defensively, offensively, baserunning, and the impact in the locker room, the impact in the organization — so yeah, we’re talking about a special guy here.”

Walking up to “My Girl” by The Temptations, Lindor is batting .365 with six homers, eight doubles, 12 RBIs and 15 runs during a 15-game hitting streak that matches his career best. The leadoff man has reached base in a career-high 33 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors.

Not coincidentally, the Mets (76-64) have won seven in a row and are tied with the rival Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card.

Quite a turnaround for a team that was 11 games under .500 in early June. And now, Lindor is serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants every night at Citi Field.

“I feel the love from the fans," Lindor said Tuesday after hosting kids at the ballpark for his regular charity program promoting dental hygiene. "But, I've got to win. I've got to win. I've got to win. I've got to win. I've got to be in the postseason. And I think that’s what the fans are demanding, and that’s what I want.”

Lindor provides much more than offensive production — and that's where the MVP debate takes shape.

The dazzling Ohtani is hitting .290 with 44 home runs, 99 RBIs, 111 runs and a .988 OPS over 137 games in his first season with the NL West-leading Dodgers (84-56) since signing a $700 million contract as a free agent.

He tops the NL in homers, runs, slugging (.613), total bases (334) and OPS, as the Japanese superstar attempts to join Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win an MVP award in both leagues.

And with 46 stolen bases to go with his 44 homers, Ohtani is nearing the first 50/50 season in big league history, with 22 games left to accomplish the feat.

Lindor's numbers at the plate, impressive as they are, don't quite stack up with all that: After a dreadful start (he got booed at home early and was batting .190 on May 18), the switch-hitter is at .274 with 30 homers, 84 RBIs, 98 runs, 26 steals and an .844 OPS.

However, the durable Lindor also delivers steady and sometimes spectacular glove work at a premium defensive position. In the third season of a $341 million, 10-year deal, he's played in all 140 games for New York, starting 139 at shortstop.

“It’s part of my contract to show up and be here every single day and I take a lot of pride in that,” he said. "I love being able to post up. I love to be consistent, not only on the playing field but how I treat people and how I walk around and who I am as a person. ... And if I win MVP, it would be a dream — but I want to win a World Series.”

Ohtani took home AL MVP trophies in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way player enjoying unprecedented success for the Los Angeles Angels. But he's not pitching this season while rehabbing from another elbow operation, so it's impossible to dismiss he doesn't contribute at all on defense.

No primary designated hitter — besides Ohtani when also a pitcher — has won an MVP award. Don Baylor made 65 starts at DH for the 1979 Angels and 97 in the outfield.

Lindor leads Ohtani 7.3 to 6.6 in total Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to the FanGraphs formula. Ohtani is ahead 7.0 to 6.3 on Baseball-Reference.com.

Much more difficult to measure, of course, are intangibles like leadership.

“It’s crazy how he went from zero to 100,” young Mets third baseman Mark Vientos said about Lindor. “Coming to the field every day, seeing him put his head down and work as hard as he does, and I say to myself, `Hey, like, if the franchise guy is working that hard, why am I not working hard?’ So he’s made me better this season, and like I said, he’s been a big part of my success.”

Lindor notably called a players-only meeting following an ugly loss to the Dodgers on May 29. As players explained it, the Mets aired some issues in the clubhouse that day and committed themselves to positivity, effective preparation and a team-first approach dedicated to helping each other and winning games.

Since then, with Lindor leading the charge, they have the best record in the majors at 54-31.

“It's easy to quantify what he does on the field, and that’s really impressive. Much harder to quantify the impact he has both by what he says and also by how he acts," Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. "He works so hard, he takes so much pride in his own preparation — but also ensuring that his teammates prepare appropriately. And it’s the entire package that I think allows him to contribute so much to the organization.”

Or, as Cora put it: “He’s just an impactful individual. There’s a vibe about him that not too many guys have at the big league level. From the walk-up song — this place is going nuts — to his smile, to the energy, to the commitment, to the structure, to the discipline. This kid is on point with everything.”

“He has learned the hard way here in New York, right?” Cora added. “I think that right now, he’s the guy for them. Everything revolves around him. ... I think this year he has put everything together.”

With all that in mind, Stearns was asked recently what the most valuable player looks like.

“I think he looks like the guy who runs out to shortstop every day for us at 7 o’clock,” Stearns said with a smile. “It’s been an unbelievable season to watch. We’re getting to the point, I think, where we’re talking about perhaps the greatest individual position-player season in the history of this franchise. I’ve been around some really special seasons. I’ve been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there with anything I’ve seen on a day-to-day basis.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press