NL DIVISION SERIES: METS VS PHILLIES

October 9, 2024

Francisco Lindor

Citi Field

New York Mets

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Mets - 4, Phillies - 1

Q. Where does this rank in your career?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: Pretty high. Pretty high, because this is a home run to send us to a big place, you know, which is the National League Championship. So, yeah, it's hard to rank them from 1 to 10, but it's pretty high, for sure.

Q. Can you take us through the home run on the 2-1 pitch you hit out.

FRANCISCO LINDOR: I was just trying to get a good pitch in the zone. I felt like I got a good one early and I missed it. I was just trying to do what the other boys did. I was trying to do what the other boys did, which is get on base. They did an amazing job. So I was just trying to do that.

Q. To be able to get this win at home in front of this crowd, how about the environment in the stadium tonight?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: The crowd was amazing today and yesterday. They have been amazing. To do it in front of them was very special. But to move on is special. To do it at home, it's cool because you get to celebrate not only with your family but also with the fans.

Q. When you came here you had designs of getting this team to these places, to get into an NLCS. It hasn't been a straight line, but how does it feel to get to this point, to get this franchise there, to get your teammates there? How does it feel to get to this point?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: It feels amazing to be able to continue to move forward, like you said. It's been an uphill fight. It's been tough. But we're still not where we want to be. We've got to continue to play the game the right way day in and day out.

We enjoyed this one. We celebrate it with our families and our fan base. But, yeah, you've just got to stay the course, continue to stay the course, continue to learn day-in and day-out. This road, it's been, yeah, it's been curvy, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Q. What does it make you feel like when a lot of your teammates, not that they expect it to happen, but they have a sense when you're in a spot like that that you're going to be the guy to do it?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: I love them for them believing in me. I really believe in every one of them. I believe that anybody at any given time can do something special.

We have a bunch of really good baseball players that can do a lot of things right. And when you focus on little things, big things can happen. My at-bat doesn't come up if it wasn't for the guys in front of me. J.D. starting the inning, Marte, Tyrone, you have all those guys. Alvy, even though he didn't get a base hit, but still he got on base.

So, yeah, any one of us could have done it, it just worked out it was me today.

Q. You can guess who said this, you can probably guess, it was Harrison Bader: He's poised, he's a cold dude, he's the coldest dude I've ever been around. You're known as Mr. Smiles, but you seem very, very calm. Are you as calm as you seem?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: I'm enjoying the moment. I'm living in the moment. A lot of people are asking me why I'm not reacting, why I'm not reacting to the home runs. I am reacting, you know. I'm celebrating inside. But at the end of the day, the job is not finished until we play 27 outs.

Bader is a great teammate, a gamer, somebody that shows up day-in/day-out, whether he's playing or not. So him saying that, it's pretty cool.

Q. Brandon spoke just about the emotional moment that you guys had and just how much you two have been together. What does it mean to you to be doing this with this core group, the guys that are advancing as far as you've ever have?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: Brandon is an amazing leader and teammate and I'm super proud of him. He's been through a lot in this organization. He stuck with it. And he wants it. He wants it just as bad as anybody else out there. I'm proud of him because the growth that he have shown of how to carry himself day-in and day-out and his at-bats have been amazing. I think today he wasn't feeling a hundred percent and he gave everything he had. So to me that shows character. And I love him. I love him. He's amazing. I'm happy.

Q. Just as far as Quintana today, what has he meant to this team and how did he keep you guys within striking distance?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: Quintana, Severino, Manaea, Megill, Peterson, and the bullpen, what a job they have done. At different times of the year they have carried us. So it's the resiliency they have shown, those guys are amazing at what they do, and I'm super proud of them. They push each other to his limits. And they go out and, man, it seems like they just go deep in games every single time they have gone.

So to me that shows how much they want it, how much they're prepared. The job that they have done has been unbelievable.

Phillies is a great team. Hats off to them. They're a great team. They're a good ball club. They do a lot of things right. And for our pitching staff to maneuver through that lineup the way they did, it shows how good they are.

Q. Is there any extra significance knowing that you're a part of the team that this is the first time in 24 years that they have clinched a playoff series in their home, to be a part of this fan base?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: I want to win it all. I want to win it all. And ours will be a team that will forever be remembered. This will be a team that comes every ten years and eat for free everywhere they go. And I want to do that. I want to do that. But the job is not done. We have a good team to play the game the right way. We respect our opponents and go out there and give everything we have.

Q. This is the furthest you've made in the playoffs since your time in Cleveland. Is there anything from those prior experiences you've brought with you into this run you'd like to bring further with you ask the run goes on?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: It's not easy to be here. Enjoy it, don't take it for granted because it doesn't happen every year. If it happens every year, great, but it's not easy to be here.

Respect your opponent, work, grind, compete, give everything you've got, because these runs, they don't happen every year, no matter how good your team is, nothing is promised. So that's the mentality I have. We had some amazing runs in Cleveland and now I'm glad I get to do now it in New York.

Q. You've talked to us a lot all year about the chemistry of this team, how solid it is. Players trying to beat out players for positions, but rooting for the player that's taking over their at-bats. How much did that help on the field moments where you guys were in tough moments where you kind of rolled over the top?

FRANCISCO LINDOR: You kind of have to look each other in the eyes and say you're my teammate, I respect you, and the guys that haven't won their position or they're trying to beat each other in the position, we're going to give everything we have, and whatever happens I'll be cheering for you. That's what I love what the guys are doing. However, the chemistry have grown a lot. Every time you celebrate, I've never said so many I love yous to that many guys, I've said to them the whole year, you know. I think I probably said I think 26 I love yous so far. And there will be more throughout the night. I'm just very proud of the group. I love how they embrace the moment, how we embrace the moment, how we continue to push forward and the job that the coaching staff have done, the MLB department, the front office, everyone is included in this run. We stay the course and we move forward. We've got to keep climbing.