“Shocked that Francisco Lindor wasn't even a finalist" - Carlos Mendoza highlights shortstop being snubbed from the Golden Glove final list

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed his surprise and disappointment upon learning that Francisco Lindor was not among the three finalists for the Gold Glove Award in his position. Mendoza said the Mets shortstop plays top-notch defense for his team; therefore, he finds the exclusion hard to accept even though he knows Lindor is not hunting for personal accolades.

Francisco Lindor is a top contender for the National League MVP this year along with Shohei Ohtani, having led the Mets to a remarkable postseason run following a dreadful start to the campaign. Lindor batted .273/.344/.500 during the regular season with 33 home runs and 91 RBIs, while he also shone defensively with 16 outs above average and defensive runs saved.

Mendoza spoke with reporters during his press conference ahead of the three-game home stretch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

"I don’t know what to make of it," Mendoza said while speaking to the media, according to SNY.

"If you ask [Lindor], the one thing he’ll tell you is he’s not here to win personal awards, he’s here to win the whole thing which is the World Series," he added. That’s his goal, but yeah, he’s an elite defender and I was shocked that he wasn’t even a finalist."

Rawlings announced their finalists for the Gold Glove award on Tuesday. Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs), Ezequiel Tovar (Colorado Rockies), and Masyn Winn (St. Louis Cardinals) have been named as the three contenders for the shortstop position in the NL.

I thought I had a good defensive year: Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor is expected to be the main challenger to Shohei Ohtani for the 2024 NL MVP (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

Francisco Lindor was also surprised by his omission for the Gold Glove at shortstop. However, the 30-year-old did not get too bogged down by it.

"I thought I had a good defensive year, but I guess there's other players that had a better defensive year than me," Lindor said on Tuesday, as per SNY.

"At the end of the day, I'm trying to win a World Series," he added.

According to FanGraphs, Lindor finished in second place behind Dansby Swanson in defensive WAR this season. He also ranked in the 98th percentile for outs above average, calculated by Baseball Savant. Lindor has earned two Gold Gloves in his career, but has not won the award since 2019 when he was with the Cleveland Guardians.