The shortstop position has always been perhaps the most iconic on a baseball diamond, and every generation of great shortstops looks up to the previous generation and has the honor of carrying the torch.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is one of the best shortstops of his generation, and he recently paid homage to some of the greats he grew up watching as he listed his Mount Rushmore of the position.
In a recent on-field interview, analyst Chris Henderson asked Lindor who is on his Mount Rushmore, and Lindor said his four guys are Derek Jeter, Barry Larkin, Jimmy Rollins, and Roberto Alomar.
Francisco Lindor names his Mount Rushmore of shortstops
Derek Jeter
Barry Larkin
Jimmy Rollins
Roberto Alomar(via @See_Hendo) pic.twitter.com/otupiRuptP
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 23, 2024
Lindor certainly grew up watching all four of these superstars, as he chose four stars from his childhood, two of which have won MVP awards in Larkin and Rollins.
The Mets star acknowledged that Alomar was a second baseman, but he put him on his Mount Rushmore anyway since he was put on the spot.
Lindor got off to a rough start this season but has picked things up in recent weeks as the Mets hit a hot streak, and he raised his batting average from .193 on May 20th to .241 today.
The four shortstops on his Mount Rushmore have a combined 22 Gold Gloves, so Lindor clearly knew who to watch to learn how to play defense as a kid, as evidenced by his two Gold Gloves and Platinum Glove award so far in his career.
Hopefully Lindor can stay hot, and we’ll see if he can make it on the next generation’s Mount Rushmore one day.
