Mets' Jeff McNeil still waiting on car from Francisco Lindor
Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil's batting title-winning 2022 season earned him a multi-year contract and a new car from shortstop Francisco Lindor. However, McNeil says that the $341 million man has yet to pay his debts.
It didn't take long for the media to request an update on the two-time All-Star's vehicular situation during Tuesday's news conference announcing his recent four-year, $50 million extension.
"Still don't have a car, so we'll see what happens in Spring Training," he told Newsday's Tim Healey with a smile.
Last season, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that Lindor promised to gift McNeil a car if he won the batting title. The race for the title came down to the final day of the regular season, but McNeil's .326 batting average edged out Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman's by one point.
McNeil is just the second Mets player to win the batting title, José Reyes being the first in 2011. The 30-year-old couldn't have asked for a better bounce-back season after hitting a career-worst .251 batting average and posting an 87 OPS+ in 2021.
When asked by Puma on Tuesday if Lindor gave him any parameters regarding what type of car he may choose, McNeil laughed and said, "Not sure yet. I did send Lindor a pretty good video of some very nice cars the other day."
"If it's any one of those, I'm sure it'll be up to my standards," he added.
A later discovery revealed that the video sent to Lindor was of one specific type of car. "He said they were nice cars," McNeil said of the shortstop's text reply.
Given McNeil's newfound fortune, perhaps the stakes will rise for upcoming wagers; but with Spring Training just two weeks away, Lindor will need to fulfill his current promise soon.
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