Francisco Lindor joined the 20-20 club for the third time in his career last night, becoming the first Met to do so since Carlos Beltrán in 2008, and a moment he took pride in. There are more footsteps that Lindor can follow from Beltrán, an elite group that he’ll have the chance to join in the next few seasons.
Beltrán hit 435 home runs in his career and stole 312 bases, making him the only switch-hitter to go 300-300 in his career. Lindor is currently at 206-145, and he’s 29 years old. More than doubling his career steals on the back end is a huge ask, but with the new bigger bases and his great speed and baseball sense, Lindor should have a good shot at going 200-200.
Only four other switch-hitters have joined that club with Beltrán: charter member Howard Johnson, Devon White, Roberto Alomar, and Jimmy Rollins.
Soon enough, there will be another player in the club near and dear to Lindor: his former Cleveland teammate José Ramírez is just eight steals away from getting to 200 to go with 210 dingers. Ramírez is two homers and two steals away from matching Johnson with five 20-20 seasons. The only switch-hitter with more is Beltrán, who did it seven times.
We Can Pod It Out 167: You Never Give Me Your Money