The record matters most, of course. The 72-86 Mets have suffered through a disastrous year that culminated with a trade-deadline sell-off, rendering the final two months of the season mostly meaningless.
But not fully meaningless. A few other numbers matter, too.
With a sea of disappointments all around them, Francisco Lindor and Kodai Senga are two of the handful of Mets who have lived up to — or perhaps exceeded — expectations.
The season-long performances of both were rewarded with round numbers that affirm how consistent and valuable each has been.
Lindor smoked three home runs over Wednesday’s doubleheader to join the 30-30 club, and Kodai Senga reached 200 strikeouts in his season finale as the Mets split a pair of games with the Marlins in front of 24,966 at Citi Field.
Lindor already had swiped a career-best 30 bases, but he needed a burst to reach the homer milestone.
split to reach the 30/30 milestone.
That burst arrived against the Marlins, who watched Lindor homer once in the Mets’ 11-2 Game 1 victory and twice in the 4-2 nightcap loss.
The 29-year-old, who had never gone 30-30, is the first Met to do so since David Wright in 2007. The only other Mets in the club are Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry. Lindor especially enjoyed the company of Barry Larkin (who went 30-30 in 1996) and Carlos Beltran (2004).
“It means a lot to me,” said Lindor, who went 4-for-7 on the day with six RBIs, bringing him to 96 runs batted in on the season. “I don’t really play for numbers, but it’s really hard not to play for numbers here in New York. Numbers come up a lot here.”
No. 30 came against Miami’s Johnny Cueto, who threw a first-pitch slider in the fourth inning of the second game that was rocketed 398 feet to right-center.
Lindor watched it go for a moment and pumped his fist as he made his way to first base, reaching club history and tying the game in the process.
Lindor’s OPS is up to .803 to go along with excellent defense and consistent brilliance at shortstop, having played in 156 of the Mets’ 158 games this season while performing like a star worth $341 million.
“He’s all about baseball,” manager Buck Showalter said of Lindor. “He’s all about the Mets.”
It might have been easier to rest his legs following the white flag the Mets waved at the trade deadline. Instead, Lindor reached heights he had never seen before.
As did Senga, who had never pitched in Major League Baseball and entered this season as an unknown on a five-year, $75 million pact that quickly looked like a bargain.
In the nightcap, Senga allowed two runs (both on solo home runs) on three hits in five innings, his ERA finishing at 2.98 over 166 ¹/₃ innings.
In a rotation that, until August, was all about Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Senga has been the ace.
He will be in the conversation not just for NL Rookie of the Year but for Cy Young, too.
“Honestly, going into the season, I had no expectations,” Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. “I had no idea what I was capable of.”
After his eight-strikeout night, Senga will finish with 202 strikeouts in his stateside debut, just the 13th different Met to reach 200 Ks and joining Dwight Gooden as the only Mets rookies to reach that number.
After No. 200 — which came appropriately on a ghost forkball that Jake Burger chased — Senga walked off the mound to a loud ovation and waved to the crowd.
“Tough to describe,” Showalter said in reflecting on Senga’s season. “Think about all of the challenges he faced coming over here. We’re so proud of him.”
An all-around good night for the Mets was tempered in the 18th inning of play.
With the bases loaded and none out in a tie game in the top of the ninth, Miami’s Yuli Gurriel hit a ground ball to third baseman Brett Baty, who booted it to allow the go-ahead run to score in the eventual loss.
It served as a reminder that there were clouds even with the silver linings this season.
There was plenty to celebrate Wednesday, but also to bemoan as a few terrific individual seasons have been wasted.
“At the end of the day,” Lindor said, “I kind of wish I was in the Marlins’ position right now.”
NEWS CREDIT
