Francisco Lindor on Juan Soto, Mets Pressure, & The Future Of MLB

0:00two one what's up everybody and welcome to another boardroom cover story for our April cover story we have the honor to have an interview today with a very special guest somebody that means a lot to me being that I am a lot of the new year Mets leadoff hitter, shortstop, all-star, and I say future MVP, my friend Francisco Lindor. Thank you, brother. Thank you. I appreciate you, man. Welcome to the show. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Excited to be here. Appreciate you being on. Let's talk about New York right now. Obviously, ending last season was exciting. I was at opening day the other day, and I could feel the excitement in the stadium.

0:45It was almost like a continuation of October. For you going into this season, do you feel this extra kind of sense of pressure maybe or that the expectations have risen after you guys' performance last year? I mean, every time you in New York, there's always pressure. You know, I love it. I think it's pressure is a great opportunity to create something special, you know. So coming into this year, I mean, yeah, the pressure is that we got to win. But that was the same thing in 2021, 2022, 23, 24, now 25. You know, it's just we got to get it done. You know, we have to. And we are all working towards that.

1:32And I feel like the city deserves it, the organization deserves it, and the players deserve it as well. So, but nothing's going to be given. and we got to work for it. So no added pressure? Not really. At the end of the day, I got to go out there and get it done no matter what. Even if we win this year, there's still pressure. Like the Dyers won last year, they still got pressure. So it's just like every time you get put in a place to create something special, there's always going to be pressure. Yeah. But you guys clearly made noise in the offseason. when a player like Juan Soto comes into a lineup is there an adjustment I know in the NBA even when there's a successful team right when you join a team and a superstar comes and joins a roster there are certain things that you have to kind of account for and just a change in dynamic or chemistry how has that been early and and what as a leader of the team do you try to like take into account in in that process yeah well for for a guy like Soto it's all about making him feel comfortable making him feel like this is also his team you know like he's gonna be here for a very long time so you want to get him to feel that he's part of everything we're trying to accomplish and he's going to help us accomplish the ultimate goal which is winning he's been fantastic he's a a guy that has been the same person from day one that he showed up in spring training to yesterday.

3:11I'm sure he'll be the same person today. I appreciate the way he has gone about it. I appreciate that he's not trying to do anything extra. And he had obviously one year already in New York, so he kind of understands the land. You know, he understands how this is, but you just got to make him feel like this is his home because he truly is his house. You know, he's going to be here for a very long time. And you also obviously like are only a few years from signing your contract. I'm sure there's information you could give him on just like how to kind of block out that noise. Yeah. And knowing that this is like a long time.

3:55You have a long time here. have you felt that role as a leader grow over your last kind of few years here yeah for sure i mean um soto has done a fantastic job of not letting the contract get in his way as of right now but the most important thing when you sign a contract like that is you can't make up all the expectations in one year. Yeah. You know, it's going to be, you do it year after year after year after year, and eventually people are going to look back and say, it was worth it. Yeah. You know, but you can't go out, even if you win MVP your first season with the new contract, you got to still come back the next year and do it again.

4:45Yeah. You know, so it's a lot about staying the course, you know, taking it day by day, living the moment and not letting the outside noise get inside the house. Yeah. Well, you know what? One thing Mets fans will always love about him is that he left the Yankees to come to I'm sure they love that. I'll have that for the rest of his career. Yeah. And obviously getting Pete Alonzo back, I think as a Mets fan, that was something from an emotional standpoint that everybody felt was really important. Did you feel the same? and did you feel that excitement once you guys finally figured that out? Yeah, once he decided to sign with us, it lengthened our lineup.

5:25You know, it's like to have a guy like him, it makes our team better because it lengthened our lineup. You know, he's a fantastic person and he's a great hitter. So when everything came down to his signing with the Mets, obviously from the outside looking in it looks amazing because selfishly makes the team better you know so it's like hell yeah now we go we continue our journey we continue to grow and then I'm sure from the Mets fans point of view he's a homegrown player and Mets fans love homegrown players and they embrace them like no others and he's going to be the home run leader in the franchise.

6:17That's crazy. So you have a guy that you drafted and he becomes the home run leader in the franchise. That don't happen too often. Yeah. When you think about your lineup, obviously now people see your lineup and it's as formidable as any lineup in the league. And then when you read the kind of analysis of the team, they talk about the pitching staff and how that's a concern. is it a concern for you do you guys pay any attention to that not for me not for me because i'm not a gm yeah i'm just a shortstop no but i feel like we have a really good pitching staff which is we don't have the big time names that other teams have but i mean we sanga is an all-star manaya has been fantastic clay home is an all-star but now he's starting you know we have other guys are peterson it's up and coming miguel up and coming you know we we have we have what it takes you know we just don't have a lot of the track record that other teams have in their pitching staff and the big time names but our pitchers have been fantastic you know i mean they were one of the reasons why we made it all the way last year yeah you know yeah and honestly there were times when the Mets had big names at one through five and we'd win 70 games yeah you know I think like you said it's about having a deep bullpen having a great pitching staff that's playing up and I'm sure they hear the chatter too which is 100 % we got to be motivating you know I mentioned the crowd um I was at all the games in the playoffs last year it was pretty insane uh and obviously when you come up to bat that moment as a new york sports fan who's gone to every new york sporting event in my 48 years of life like that's become a real memorable moment i think you know having you come to bat having the entire crowd sing my girl what was that playoff run like for you in terms of like moments in your life to see how electric the crowd became it was sick it was crazy it was sick to your your hope so when you put a walk-up song the most of the guys they put it because they're vibing to the song they like the song and they want the fans to engage with it and when you can vibe to the song and the fans get behind it and you start winning you know it's like yeah it feels good it feels good and we we yes last year during the playoffs we had this fantastic aura you know like the fans would bring it it was just like we're at home we're not gonna lose you know it's like we have true home field advantage and yes I kind of felt that way yes as well you know where it's like the crowd it's just like you got 40 some thousand people pulling in one direction you know and then you have the players pulling in the same direction as 40 ,000 people here.

9:23It's a strong force without question. And I'll tell you, and I got to qualify all this by saying, I'm a Mets fan, so I'm biased. But I will say that growing up in New York, outside of one or two years, it's been a Yankee town. But during the playoffs last year, I was really loud to anyone that would listen to me, telling me that I was feeling a shift. I was at Citi Field for all the games first Dodgers Phillies and then I went to the World Series night and day night and day and I'm sure you don't get caught up in that but did you feel that that chatter and I know you'd only been here four years but did you feel that chatter and that idea that that people were talking about you guys now as much if not more than they were talking about your crosstown rivals it i feel like the atmosphere i feel like city field is becoming the place to be yep you know what i'm saying like it's so you have there's certain places around the league that yeah there's a game but it's more of an event it's almost like basketball like when you go to a basketball game there's a game but it feels like an event it feels like something special is happening and that's kind of how it feels at city field right now and how it felt last year where it was it was a baseball game but it felt more than a baseball game it felt like people were just like it was the place to be yeah you know and that's kind of how it feels this year and i think that maybe that's why you when you when you're experiencing and feeling the shift it's maybe that's what you are feeling like it's it's almost the place to be you know If there's something happening and there's five things happening, which one are you going to pick?

11:10City field. I'm going to go to city field. It's like Madison Square Garden. It's like, which one do I pick? I'm going to city field. That's kind of how it feels. Yeah, that's what happens when a team's in a playoffs in New York. In general, that becomes the talk of the town, but when the environment becomes almost like a music festival, which is what that felt like, it's where everyone wants to go. So then you have like novice fans that are just going to Citi Field because they don't want to miss the moment. Correct. I think a lot of this has also obviously aligned with new ownership. Right. And I represented Kevin for almost his entire career.

11:47And I know the difference between having a great owner. You could feel it because there's no stone unturned and changes to an in-game experience, to the accommodations, to the commitment to spending on players is obvious. and it can be motivating. And I know you have a good relationship with the whole family. Yeah. Is that as good as it seems from the outside? A hundred percent. It is. A hundred percent. It's something that you know that whole family is putting just as much energy and effort that the players are putting into it. You know, so it's – you know they want to make this place one of the craziest, best places in the league, you know, in the world.

12:33But they're doing it step-by-step. They're not cutting steps, you know, because when you start cutting steps, eventually it comes back to bite you. Always, yeah. So, like, they're doing it step-by-step, you know. It's almost like they're learning, they're figuring things out, and they're doing it the right way. You know, you have Alex taking care of the families. You have Steve overseeing pretty much everything. You have Josh, you know, doing media and making sure, like, people, the Mets' name, it continues to grow with the right people and alongside the right places. And then you have the front office that's putting the team on the field, and then you have the players that are just as excited as ownership and front office being a Met, you know.

13:22so it's it's a good thing there's a good thing happening and they're lifelong Mets fans correct correct so it starts from the top like to your point you know when you have ownerships that are yeah that New York City yeah we're in New York we outside we outside man

13:4730 seconds so you pray about

13:52If it goes longer than 30 seconds, they might be drilling. They might go down to the middle of the earth. Shit. That's loud.

14:16I got news for you guys. This ain't going to be a while. Yeah.

14:24yeah

14:30um um

14:46and they are 100 way since inspired by you

15:08alright let's do it it's gonna be here for a while

15:20Is there Is it totally drowned it out It's not totally It's just It's there You know what I mean It's like I'll start your eat But you're gonna be able to Say

15:38Say Say

15:49I think we should hit it. It is what it is. It looks like it's fading in sound.

16:00Drop him a bag or something. Give us 20.

16:08Alright, well, I'll talk louder. Yeah.

16:16Alright, you guys ready? Let's just go.

16:22We'll put a qualifier on the bottom that's a real New York interview. Yeah.

16:32Things that happen in New York. I usually like when we do it when we do it and the siren goes I usually like don't cut it because I like that effect for a second the drill that was next level I don't know

16:53where did I leave off Steve Cohen yeah

17:03I'll just say I'll say the lifelong Mets fan and then we'll pick it back up alright and obviously them being lifelong Mets fans has added to it and you can feel that too yeah for sure when they're fans of the organization and they have the willingness and the desire to improve the organization, magical things can happen. Yeah. And that's what they've been doing. From day one, they said that they were going to do certain things, and they have every year that I've continued to do it. Yeah. Every year they put the same amount of effort, you know, and I don't think it's going to stop even when we win.

17:48Yeah, you could tell. I mean, that man wants to win at all costs. Yeah, yeah. When you have a great year like you did last year and you go into the offseason, do you have certain things that you go, okay, I want to improve upon this in my game, and that becomes the focus obviously alongside the rest of your offseason plan? Yeah, yeah, it does. It's a blessing and a curse, you know, because when you get so addicted to improving and getting better, sometimes you forget what you're doing right, and you're so caught up in doing and fixing what you weren't as good that it gets to a point where it's like oh damn i gotta i gotta go back to what i do right you know and then build off that so it's a fine balance it's a fine line of do i want to improve and what i did bad and sacrifice a little bit of the things that i did very good or should i just continue to work at what i did very good and give a little bit more time on what I did bad.

18:54Yeah. You know, and that's kind of how I went about it this offseason, where it's like the things I did a little bit bad, you know, just work at them, but get better at the things that I did really good. And do you watch film of yourself? Every night. Really? Every night. Yeah. After every game? After every game. Yeah. Yeah. Because I got to see how they're pitching me. I got to see what I'm doing. You know, for me, I look at my mechanics. Are they in the right spot? Are they not in the right spot? Why did they break down? Or why were they so good? A lot of it comes with the mindset. But I just like seeing it.

19:33I like studying. I'm in school every time I'm on the field. And do you have film and all the pitchers too? So you can watch their whole technique. Everything. Yeah. Tells and stuff. Everything. All the pitchers, I have how they work, you know, and then I try to study and figure out what the strategy is. You know, if they're trying to go up, up, up, down, or if they're trying to go in, in, away, or they're pitching north, south, east, west. You know, that's kind of amazing. And, you know, I think it's interesting about baseball, it's probably different than most other sports, is the amount of in-season adjustments that players make at times.

20:12like players actually making changes in their batting stance throughout the season is that something that's challenging as a player or is that type of thing that when you're slumping or if a hitting coach kind of tips you off to something then you are able to kind of make that shift during the season yeah so it i guess it's like anything in life when sometimes i i have my hands here and i drop them a little bit in my mind i feel like they went all the way down here I look at the film, I'm like half an inch. But it felt good. So we play every day. So it's not like all the sports where you have to wait three days to make the adjustment.

20:56We play every day. So you have the opportunity to try things out. What you can't fall into is changing every single day. If you find something, stick to that. And just give it a week, give it two weeks. you know this this they say 21 days is what creates a habit really the thing they say is 21 days you create a good habit and it takes i think one day to break it so so it's like don't go every other day trying new things you know just try find something stick to that try for a week and a week and a half you know but it's all base results so we don't have the luxury of like i'm trying this new thing and in two weeks i was i haven't got a hit yeah you know you gotta get you gotta perform every day how stressful is it throughout 162 game season when you're going through a bit of a slum as a player when i was a younger player it was very stressful and sleep sleepless nights you know as as i get older i have learned to compromise you know just find buckets of like i i'm home i'm with my girls now with my son um let me just let me be a dad yeah where before it was just baseball baseball baseball baseball i couldn't fall asleep i still have those nights but it's less the war and terror in your body, that's when basically becomes a little more tough.

22:31Do you think having, and congratulations on the birth of your son, do you think having this part of your life now, married, three young kids, has been an incredible balance for you overall in your life? I'm living the life I always wanted. Yeah. I tell people I'm peaking in life in a way, you know, because, like, I got an amazing wife. I got three kids. I'm playing in an amazing place. Every year is about winning. Every day is about winning. So, yes, I'm in a fantastic place right now. I think my girls are now my boy. They brought a fantastic balance. I'm addicted to baseball. Yeah. You know, I live it, I breathe it, I eat it.

23:21It's baseball, baseball, baseball. So having a family of my own, it almost like helps me get away from baseball. Yeah. And my hope is my girls are into music, dancing, you know, all the sports, so I can go outside of baseball and do other things with them. Otherwise, it'll be baseball, baseball, baseball. Yeah. Yeah. But you also have so many other interests, right? Like I would say that you're widely considered the most stylish guy in the league. You're somebody who, you know, has such an incredible kind of relevance or it's a cultural relevance that transcends the sport. how do you also add that level of a kind of focus because you those are things that are real for you and you built a good business for yourself um how does that fit into a schedule as long as the baseball season yeah well it's it almost become a lifestyle it becomes part of who you are you know and like going to other businesses, you hope that it's not disrupting the main thing that I do, which is baseball.

24:37So you got to incorporate into your lifestyle, you know. Make it part of your routines. Like for me, I love clothing. I love dressing up. I'm looking at different textures and pieces, and I send it to Alan, my style coach, and I just be like, hey, what you think about this? I'm seeing something like this. And then I want to go into the coffee area. So then I just, everywhere I go, I look at the coffees and I ask questions about it. But it becomes part of, like, I'm always drinking coffee in the morning. So why not learn about it while I'm drinking it, you know? Same thing with real estate. everywhere I go there's real estate.

25:24Life is a real estate. So I'm always like alright what's in here I'll just go in the app and look it up and send it to the people that are helping with it and just learn about it and figure out you know how much it costs and why it costs that much and just you almost make it part of your daily routine. Make it part of your lifestyle. What's a style coach? It's the guy that helps me pick out my outfits and helps me understand silhouettes textures and he essentially helps me look clean yeah so it's almost like a level up from even just a stylist because yeah it's an education it's like a whole 100 understanding of something you love 100 100 i don't i don't like going to things without understanding them without living with with no knowledge yeah you You know, I just, if I'm going to do it, I got to learn about it.

26:21I want to be a little bit more educated. And that way, eventually, I can just help others. You know, that's the hope. You know, the hope is that in life you learn enough about something that you can pass it on with my kids or my kids' friends or a teammate, you know. And just because I feel like we don't get to where we are without mentors. You know, we always look up to somebody. We always say, okay, I want to get there. We always have a north. And I'm sure I'm the north for other people. And I'm sure it will be like that hopefully for the rest of my life. And some people are going to get close to me.