'My city': Francisco Lindor shows Indians why they can't let him get away

Bill Bender

'My city': Francisco Lindor shows Indians why they can't let him get away image

CLEVELAND — Viewers heard a lot when FOX put a mic on Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor for the sixth inning of the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night.  

Lindor told umpires to go to Lola on East 4th Street. He directed A's third baseman Matt Chapman and Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres in two languages. He dished with Joe Buck on how the Indians are back in the AL Central race with the Twins heading into the second half of the season. Viewers heard all that, but Cleveland fans heard one line above everything else.  

"Enjoy my city."  

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Lindor was the face of Cleveland for the All-Star game festivities. He showed up at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He hosted Derby After Dark at the Magenta Club. He owned the pregame show on the Progressive Field red carpet with an outfit that had "bling on the front and bling on the back." The four-time All-Star owned the stage with a huge smile.  

"I was talking to my agent earlier and I said, 'This is insane,'" Lindor said. "It's a dream to go from a little kid in Puerto Rico to growing and signing professionally and having all these things. I'm not here by myself. … It's special for everyone you love to see your face." 

The question remains whether Lindor will be the face of the organization for the rest of his career. Indians owner Paul Dolan's comments to The Athletic on March 25 about Lindor's future still linger.  
 
"We control him for three more years," Dolan told The Athletic. "Enjoy him, and then, we'll see what happens."  

Cleveland fans know what happens with the faces of the franchise. It's been happening since the Rocky Colavito trade in 1960. Chris Chambliss and CC Sabathia were traded. Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome signed mega-contracts to play in larger markets. Michael Brantley left for Houston after last season. Lindor will be a free agent in 2022 unless he signs a long-term extension.  

That's the investment Cleveland must make in a player who repeatedly talked about his city and what it means through the All-Star weekend.  

"He's good for baseball," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I'm glad he's in our uniform, but even if he wasn't, I would still say he's good for baseball. When you get a young player that respects the game but obviously enjoys playing it the right way, that's really good for the game." 

Lindor is hitting .296 with 14 homers and 13 stolen bases, and has played strong defense. He's also known for the clutch hit, perhaps none bigger than the grand slam in Game 2 of the ALDS against New York in 2017.  

"He seems to kind of elevate his game in the biggest points of the game," Francona said. "It reminds me of Dustin Pedroia a little bit where his best plays seem to be when the game is on the line. ... Some guys maybe shy away. He seems to rise to the occasion." 

Pedroia also is a four-time All Star who has spent his entire career in Boston, with the difference being that he helped lead the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013 (he was not on the active postseason roster in 2018).  

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If Lindor could lead a championship run for a franchise that has not won a World Series since 1948, that could make the decision about his future that much easier. The Dolan article ran one day before Lindor suffered an ankle injury in spring training, and Cleveland struggled early in the season. Lindor returned April 20, but Cleveland still trailed the Twins by as many as 11 games in mid-June. 

"It's baseball," Lindor said. "I know we've had a good team since Day 1. We're going to have ups and downs. At the beginning it seemed like we were good, then we had a fade. We had the stretch In May where we didn't play how we wanted to play. Right now, we seem to be getting everything right."  

The Indians closed the first half with a six-game winning streak. Lindor has hit .311 since June 1, and he belted a pair of homers in a 7-2 victory against the Reds on July 6. Cleveland is 5.5 games out in the AL Central and leads for the second wild card spot by 1.5 games. Lindor had faith all along.

"I've liked my team since spring training," Lindor said. "I believe in them. I believe in what we have. A lot of people are counting us out. This is our team. We are a team where guys are going to compete. We're not trying to trade nobody. We want to have pieces. I want to have pieces." 

Lindor clearly wants Cleveland to be in position to compete for championships, and the Indians are in position to make a run at a fourth straight AL Central title. The arms race with New York, Boston and now Houston, however, is one that is harder to compete with when the season is over. Ask Cleveland fans, and they will tell you all about Colavito, Chambliss, Sabathia, Thome, Ramirez and now Brantley. 

That will be the case in 2022 if Cleveland does not retain Lindor, who recognizes his place. It's his city for as long as they have him.  

"It is home," Lindor said. "To be able to be in this event — the best of the event of the summer — is humbling. It's special." 

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.