Francisco Lindor has had his share of slumps in his career.
He entered Tuesday hitless in 26 straight plate appearances, without even a walk mixed in.
And his trouble at the plate goes back longer than that, with a .524 OPS in his previous 22 games, which was worse than all but eight qualified hitters in the majors during that span, according to Fangraphs.
Worse, even, than the struggling shortstop on the other side of town, as Anthony Volpe had a .526 mark in the same stretch.
But no one is calling for Lindor to be benched or sent to the minors, thanks to a proven ability over the past 11 years such that Carlos Mendoza referred to him Tuesday as a “future Hall of Famer.”
The same can’t be said of Volpe, whose issues on both sides of the ball have been made even more glaring because the Yankees aren’t playing well and he doesn’t have the track record to compare with Lindor.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor reacts after he flies out against the Angels.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Volpe was dropped to ninth in the order for Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jays.
As the other New York shortstop, Lindor said he was aware of what Volpe was going through and while he never had similar issues while a young player with Cleveland, he believed he was helped by the lack of attention that comes with playing in a smaller market.
“It’s got to be tough,” Lindor said of Volpe’s high-profile woes. “It’s got to be very tough to grow in this market. He always has the spotlight.”
And while Lindor said he didn’t need to give Volpe advice, since “he’s got great guys over there who have been doing it longer than me,” he could relate to Volpe’s current slump.
Yankees’ Anthony Volpe reacts after striking out against the Atlanta Braves.AP
“Every year, we’re gonna go through it at some point,” Lindor said of the highs and lows of a year. “I don’t care who you are. You have to understand you’re not as bad as the moment and you’re not as good as the moment, either. You have to stay the course and everything will level out.”
He’s confident it will for Volpe.
“He’s a good player,’’ Lindor said. “You just have to grind. He’s a great defensive shortstop and when you’re not hitting well, you can rely on good defense. It’s the same thing with me. That’s what you focus on.”
