Mets' Francisco Lindor has interesting reason for liking pitch clock

New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor has an interesting reason for liking the new pitch clock embraced by MLB for this season. 

"First of all, I like it because games are much faster," Lindor explained during an appearance on the "Mets'd Up" podcast, per Ryan Gilbert of Audacy. "As a parent, I’m only imagining what I would go through when I take my daughters to a baseball game if I were taking them a few years ago. Getting home at midnight because the game finished at 11. By the time they get to bed, shower them, and go through homework, then they got to get up at six in the morning to go to school." 

Lindor previously made it known he liked that the ban on the infield defensive shift created additional opportunities to make highlight-reel plays. That was before the 29-year-old and his wife welcomed their second daughter into the world last month. While the four-time All-Star selection is a fan of the pitch clock that has drastically reduced the average times of games this season as a spectator, he acknowledged getting used to it as a veteran hitter remains a work in progress. 

"It was tough in the beginning, and it’s still challenging at times," Lindor said. "I’m focusing on my plan, my approach, what I want to do in the batter’s box. I’m paying attention to the pitcher and then all of a sudden the clock hits zero, I look at the clock, then I try to get back into the box, into the moment. It was tough. It was tough to adapt." 

While Lindor entered Wednesday batting just .224 on the campaign, ESPN stats show he was also leading all of MLB among shortstops with 17 home runs and 56 RBI at that time. Heading into Wednesday's contest at the 50-36 Arizona Diamondbacks, the 39-46 Mets were six-and-a-half games back in the race for a wild-card playoff spot.