Mets star Francisco Lindor happy to be getting some positive reactions from fans

New York Mets fans regularly booed Francisco Lindor as he struggled at the plate through the opening months of the 2021 Major League Baseball season. 

But after hitting a grand slam during a 13-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, he's happy to be giving spectators something to cheer about. 

"I was happy. It just sucks getting booed," Lindor said, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.

"It's that simple. I want to do the best I can do every single day to help the team win and I was just listening to see if I was going to get booed. ... I'm nowhere near my best. So when I do have a little bit of success, I want to sit back and listen, feed off the crowd again. When they cheer, now, it gives me that extra motivation to push forward."

The Mets acquired Lindor and Carlos Carrasco in a trade that sent Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez to the Cleveland Indians. Before the 2021 campaign began, Lindor signed a massive 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets. 

The 27-year-old is just now starting to make that contract look like it was worth it for New York. Over his last 15 games, Lindor is slashing .245/.373/.367 with one home run, 10 RBI and three stolen bases. He's been even better over his last seven games, hitting .333/.500/.476 with one home run, eight RBI and a stolen base.

Earlier this season, Lindor classified himself as the best shortstop in baseball. While he certainly hasn't been that this season, the four-time All-Star is just starting to come around.