CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor has never been afraid to show his excitement on the baseball diamond.
Despite the grind of a 162-game season in 180 days and a six-week spring training camp, Lindor always flashes a smile to his teammates after a great play and shows a genuine enjoyment of the game of baseball that seems to be infectious.
“I’m playing my game,” Lindor told WKYC.com at TribeFest last month. “I’m playing the same game I’ve always played. I’ve never been a big fan of making a diving play and acting like I’ve done it a thousand times. It’s not like I’m going to show up the game. I don’t want to show up the game and any other players. I’m just doing it because, ‘Hey, I made a good play.’
“I’m going to laugh. I’m going to smile. I’m going look at Kippy, I’m going to look at Gio and be like, ‘Yeah!’ If they do the same thing, I’m going to look at him, I’m going to look at Gio, I’m going to look at Brantley, I’m going to look at everybody and we’re going to be like, ‘Yeah, that was a good play, man.’ I never want to disrespect the game. I never want to disrespect other players. I try to do whatever it takes to walk across the lines. I don’t want to be all over the place. Some people may take that the wrong way, but I can’t please everybody.”
That desire to make everyone around him smile started long before Lindor became a part of the Indians organization with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft.
“I always try to be happy,” Lindor said. “I always try to smile. I tell my family when they’re having a bad day or people in the street, people I know, they always see me and I kind of get people excited, and then, I just walk away. I would say hello and just walk away, and they would stay happy. I’ve always been like that, and that comes from being the youngest in the family and all my brothers messing around with me. I’ve always been like that.”
And along with that excitement and enjoyment Lindor brought to the team, he showed unusual poise that allowed him to have success at the Major League level.
In 99 games with the Indians last season, Lindor collected 122 hits in 390 at-bats, smacked 22 doubles, hit four triples, belted 12 home runs, drove in 51 runs and finished the year with a .482 slugging percentage and .353 on-base percentage. In addition to scoring 50 runs, Lindor laid down 13 sacrifice hits, lifted seven sacrifice flies, drew 27 walks and successfully stole 12 bases in 14 attempts.
In the field, Lindor made just 10 errors in 389 chances, which gave him a team-best .974 fielding percentage at shortstop.
“It started from my family,” Lindor said of his maturity. “My dad was very strict with me. He was strict with all of us. My mom as well. I kind of have a little mix from both. My mom is chill. She’s always happy, always going with the flow. That’s kind of how I am. At the same time, I’m strict. I’ve got priorities in life, and I’m strict with those. I have a finish line and I’m working for it. Along the way, there’s things I’ve got to do in order to continue in a straight line, and that comes from my dad.
“I went to Montverde Academy and I was young and by myself. That kind of helped me be responsible, to mature, to be responsible, to be accountable for every mistake that I made. I would tell the teachers, ‘I’m sorry. I messed up. Hey, I left my homework in the dorms.’ They close the dorms and you can’t go back. Being accountable and not saying, ‘Oh, my mom, she didn’t…’ No, I was accountable for the things. That also helped me mature as well.”
By remaining accountable, both on and off the field, Lindor hopes his maturity and productivity result in success for the Indians, who have been out of the postseason each of the last two years and have played in just one playoff game since the start of the 2008 season.
“Looking forward to the season, I’m looking to win,” Lindor said. “I want to win. I’m looking forward to sharing great moments with my teammates when we’re in October all together and looking at each other like, ‘Yes. We’re here. It’s go time now. It’s go time. This is what we dreamed for. This is what we trained all offseason for. This is why we came early to the FanFest, to build that chemistry.’
“When I mess up in October or during the season, Michael Brantley can come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, man, you better pick it up.’ Kipnis can come up and say, ‘Hey, you better pick it up,’ because ultimately, that’s what it’s all about. Then, when they mess up, one of us can tell them, ‘Hey, you’re our guy. You’re leading us. I’m looking at you and trying to be like you guys, so come on. Let’s go.’”
