Francisco Lindor confirmed he still would be buying Jeff McNeil a car — but still left more questions to be answered.
At the beginning of the 2022 season, the Mets shortstop said he would get his double-play partner a new car if he won the batting title.
And sure enough, McNeil led the entire majors in batting average last year with a .326 mark, beating out the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (.325) by the slimmest of margins.
In October, Lindor re-affirmed that he would buy McNeil a vehicle, and in January, the New York second baseman sent the shortstop videos of some cars he was eyeing.
But as the calendar hits mid-July, McNeil still doesn’t have that car.
However, Lindor promised a car would be purchased during an interview on Bleacher Report’s “On Base with Mookie Betts.”
However, what kind of car — or when it’s actually coming — is still up in the air.
“I will get a car, it’s just a matter of what car I’m getting,” Lindor said.
When Betts pressed Lindor, 29, about when this transaction might be coming, the middle infielder remained coy.
“I don’t know, it’s my wallet,” Lindor said in response to when he’d buy the car. “It might be a hot wheel. It might be a golf cart. It might be a nice car. … He will get the car. I promise you that.”
After winning the batting title, McNeil hasn’t found the same success in 2022 as he’s posted a .251/.328/.325 slash line in 90 games entering Saturday’s contest.
Nearly 20 games out of first place in the National League East while taking on the Dodgers, a lot has gone wrong for the Mets in 2023 after a 101-win 2022.
At a press conference at the end of June, owner Steve Cohen said the team’s issues start — and end — with the players on the field.
“It’s on the players,” Cohen said at the time.
When asked about Cohen’s comments during his interview with Betts, Lindor said the club’s owner was “real.”
“He kept it very professional, he kept it real,” Lindor said. “I respected it, I thought it was a great press conference and he’s right — we gotta play better. We gotta play better, I said it yesterday, too.
“Front offices can put the best team together on paper, but if us the players don’t execute and don’t come out and do the job, it’s not the best team.”
