Saturday, August 02

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 16 seasons full-time on the beat.

NEW YORK -- Francisco Lindor’s latest foray into what Rich Kleiman calls “the zeitgeist” of sports is dropping this week. From Tuesday through Monday, Lindor will be featured in a cover story on Boardroom, a media company founded by the player agent Kleiman and his most prominent client, NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

In addition to being part of a deepening relationship between Boardroom and Major League Baseball, the project is a nod to Lindor’s increasing influence within the national and even global celebrity landscape.

For Kleiman, it’s also a labor of love. A native New Yorker, Kleiman was 9 years old when the Mets last won the World Series in 1986.

“If [MLB] had said to me, ‘You can have Aaron Judge or Francisco Lindor,’” Kleiman said, “I still would have said, ‘I’ll take Francisco Lindor.’”

This sort of attention is becoming routine for Lindor, whose sartorial sense recently landed him a spread in GQ and a trip to Paris Fashion Week, among other endeavors. Lindor has worked closely with New Balance, Oakley and Gucci. He’s constantly changing his shoes and his hair. And he’s been doing it all while acting as a centerpiece of what the Mets are trying to achieve, both on and off the field.

“He’s got an incredible perspective and understanding of how important the team is in New York City, how important winning is,” Kleiman said. “As the leadoff hitter and the shortstop and somebody that’s a natural-born leader, I think he really embodies it and takes pride in it and carries it.

“And then on top of it, he has this flawlessly cool side of him, from the way he dresses to the way he talks, the way he carries himself. You could see it over the last two years, especially as the Mets got better, he just really steps up when the game is big. He steps up when the crowd is packed. He knows how to create moments like he did with his walk-up song. He just has this charisma that shines through.”

The Boardroom cover story is a way to showcase that. Beginning Tuesday, Boardroom will release digital content from a recent shoot at a New York City hotel, both on YouTube and its own site. That includes a Q&A with Lindor, who spent time discussing the Mets’ importance to the city, modern comparisons to the Yankees, the idea of winning in New York, the recent atmosphere at Citi Field, his own leadership, his work integrating Juan Soto into the clubhouse culture, and more.

Although the magazine does not exist in paper form, there’s still a “cover” photo of Lindor lounging near a hotel window, Times Square’s skyscrapers rising behind him.

“It’s my dream to continue to grow not only for myself, but to cross bridges and to cross paths and to be able to not just be just a baseball player, but be something bigger than a baseball player,” Lindor said, explaining why he came on board. “Something that can inspire not only baseball players, but can inspire young women, young men to grow and always achieve their goals.”

For MLB, Lindor’s work with Boardroom represents a deepening of the league’s relationship with the publication, which also includes a presence at jewel events such as the All-Star Game and the All-MLB awards.

For Lindor, it’s a way to continue showcasing his brand, which by extension helps the sport grow. The shortstop has often spoken admiringly of NBA stars such as Durant, who have created brands and lifestyles that transcend their sport. As much as any MLB player, Lindor is working to establish the same type of thing.

“I think Lindor’s resurgence is also happening at a time when the Mets brand is becoming so powerful,” Kleiman said. “I’m biased as a Met fan, but what they’ve done from an in-stadium experience, and what ownership has committed to that team and the way that fans have connected with that team, is really special. He’s very much embodying it.”

Which Mets player has the most career home runs against the Phillies?

A) Pete Alonso

B) Lucas Duda

C) Darryl Strawberry

D) David Wright

Asked earlier this week about Alonso’s hot April, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns replied: “What Pete’s doing is as good a start you can envision for, I think, any human.”

Through 23 games, Alonso has 24 RBIs. That’s just two shy of the franchise record for March and April, which Jeff Kent (1994) shares with -- you guessed it -- Alonso (2019). With eight games still to play in April, Alonso stands a strong chance of taking that record all for himself.

He’s also four home runs shy of his own franchise mark for March and April, and he’s within striking distance for the team’s monthly records for slugging percentage and OPS.

In other words, what Stearns said is quite correct. Few humans in history -- and even fewer Mets -- have enjoyed a start to the season like this.

• Soto’s performance in Sunday’s series finale against the Cardinals may not have been a classic breakout game, but it was another excellent sign that he is rounding into form a few weeks into his Mets tenure, as Mark Feinsand wrote.

• The Mets are flying up Will Leitch’s power rankings. Before the season began, they were No. 16. Now, they’re No. 3.

D) David Wright

The captain hit 36 homers in 188 career meetings with the Phillies and posted an .860 OPS in those games. Strawberry is next with 28.

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