CLEVELAND — Francisco Lindor pumped his right arm furiously as he rounded first base. This was the moment he had dreamed about growing up, but he still wasn’t sure if he had gotten all of the baseball.
He had nothing to worry about.
Lindor was a picture of pure baseball joy, from his head to his toes, and the shortstop’s two-run home run in the sixth inning Friday night carried the Indians to a 2-0 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS.
“At first, I thought [center fielder Kevin] Pillar was going to catch it, but as soon as it went out, I put my hands out and said, ‘Thank God,’ ” Lindor said. “And I looked at the dugout and everybody was going insane. And the crowd today, unreal. I just tried to go with the flow. I celebrated like it was a walk-off.”
This postseason, there is much to enjoy about baseball, but don’t overlook the joy this young switch-hitting shortstop brings to the game.
Lindor was born in Puerto Rico and grew up a huge fan of now-retired Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar. The home run came on an 0-2 Marco Estrada changeup and landed 412 feet over the wall in right-center field.
As for the toes part …
Remember, this is BelieveLand now, and sure, the Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948, but great things are happening here.
On Lindor’s custom-made red spikes, he had the words “BelieveLand” and the Cleveland skyline.
“I believe in my team,” Lindor said, a huge smile on his face. “I believe in my city. And it’s cool. It’s cool shoes and I believe. The glory is God’s. We’re just trying to do our thing.”
Lindor is only 22 years old, but he is the heart and soul of the Indians. The All-Star plays the game the right way and enjoys every second on the field.
“He plays the game like a veteran,” said closer Cody Allen, who pitched the ninth for the save.
This was a pitching battle between Estrada and Corey Kluber, but Lindor’s blast was the difference-maker.
Kluber battled through 6 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the mighty Blue Jays — this after seven shutout innings against the scoring-machine Red Sox a week earlier — then Andrew Miller did his thing again, getting all five of his outs on strikeouts.
Lindor was the eighth pick of the 2011 draft, a steal.
“I pick up different things from the great young shortstops,” Lindor said before the game.
He learns from everyone, including the Blue Jays’ Troy Tulowitzki.
“He’s always moving his feet,” Lindor said. “It’s interesting.”
This may be the greatest era of young shortstops, and Lindor is right there.
“That’s an honor,” Lindor said. “It makes me feel good. We’ve got to continue to do our thing. Try to play the game the right way, respect the game and have fun.”
Lindor has studied all the great infielders, but said: “Alomar was my favorite player. He was going to impact the game no matter what. He did something every day that was going to impact the game. I look up to a guy like that.”
Lindor hit .301 this season. He impacted the game with his defense and his overall pure baseball joy. With this home run, his second of the playoffs, he became the youngest Indians player with multiple home runs in a single postseason.
“You can tell he’s enjoying himself,” manager Terry Francona said. “And what’s probably even better is as good a player he is, he’s probably a better kid. That’s saying something.”
Don’t overlook the lessons Lindor learned about himself along the way.
“Coming out of the system, what helped me was I always wanted to get called up, but it was never on my terms,” Lindor said. “It was whatever the team wanted, and that kind of humbled me. That told me to stay grounded, keep on working hard.”
