For years, Lindor has been a vocal leader within the clubhouse walls and through his relationships with the media and fan base. Around this time last year, he and team officials spoke publicly about the possibility that Lindor could eventually become the fifth captain in Mets history, though nothing ever came of it. Then, over the offseason, the team lost multiple veteran voices in Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso, leaving Lindor as both the longest tenured Mets position player and the club’s most obvious remaining leader.
But Lindor will not become captain — not now, and not at any point of a Mets tenure that’s slated to run through 2031.
“I respect it,” Lindor said Thursday morning. “This is definitely a Steve, front-office type decision. I respect it. At the end of the day … being named captain or not, I’m still going to act the same. This is not something that’s going to make me somebody different. So I respect it. I’m glad he put everything to bed, so that way we can stop talking about this. And move on.”
The Mets have had only four captains in their history: Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, John Franco and David Wright. Only two Major League teams currently have captains: the Yankees (Aaron Judge) and Royals (Salvador Perez). Many others have veterans who serve as spiritual leaders without the official title.
“Having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often,” Cohen said after making his statement that the Mets will never employ one under his watch. “It’s actually unusual. Whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things. I look at things differently.”
When asked about the captaincy last spring, Lindor said: “I do feel like I’m one of the leaders of the team. … If it does happen, it would be an honor. It would be a privilege. It’s something I would never take for granted.” Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that Lindor was “right at the top” of the list of potential captains, “but you could make a case for a few of the guys.”
The fact that it never happened prevented Lindor from being overly surprised when Cohen made his statement. The two have not discussed it since Cohen’s remarks on Monday.
“It’s not where they want to go,” said Lindor, who is rehabbing from left hand surgery and not currently participating in baseball activities. “I respect it, I understand it and I’m on board.
“It’s just one of those where it’s like, I’m going to focus on baseball. I feel like we’ve got leaders [without] captains and all that stuff. The clubhouse is the clubhouse. Let’s just play baseball, and let’s focus on winning.”
In addition to Lindor, the Mets employ a significant veteran presence in Juan Soto, who is under contract through 2039. The team also traded for infielder Marcus Semien, who has a longstanding reputation for leadership, and signed seven-year veteran Bo Bichette. On the pitching side, Sean Manaea and David Peterson have assumed vocal roles in recent seasons.
“It’s a lot of good guys here that know the ropes,” Lindor said. “I’m the same. Just keep doing their thing. Just focus on getting better, and I’m going to be the best person I can be.”
