PHILADELPHIA — If Francisco Lindor didn’t have your attention before Wednesday afternoon, he probably does now.

How on-brand would it have been for the Mets to get no-hit in the midst of a playoff chase? How many jokes would the internet have cracked if Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis had finished the job Wednesday at Roger Centre? What would morale have been like in the clubhouse?

It would have been just fine.

The Mets would have kept their heads up and headed to Philadelphia to take on their division rivals on a more serious note. The Mets of 2024 haven’t been immune to controversy, but they’ve handled it with aplomb, in large part because Lindor has aided in building a culture that has the Mets acknowledging challenges and rising to them.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Lindor hit a home run to tie the game and spur a comeback rally.

Where would the Mets be without their star shortstop?

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Lindor hit a home run to tie the game and spur a comeback rally.

Where would the Mets be without their star shortstop?

Shohei Ohtani is doing insane things on a baseball field every day. The Los Angeles Dodgers DH is rewriting the history books on a near daily basis, but still, the debate around the NL MVP Award has shifted into overdrive with the world finally opening its eyes to Lindor.

He has put the Mets on his back and is carrying them to a Wild Card berth.

“Man, he’s the guy,” said Mets’ left-hander Sean Manaea.

Just as the AL is debating Aaron Judge vs. Bobby Witt Jr., the NL is debating the merits of Ohtani and Lindor. In this instance, the question becomes about the definition of value: Is the guy who posts the most mind-blowing offensive numbers on the most loaded team in baseball more valuable than an elite defender who comes through with the biggest hits when needed?

Pitting their stats head-to-head isn’t necessarily fair or comparable. Lindor’s 7.4 fWAR leads the NL, while Ohtani is behind him, but not by much (7.0). Ohtani is almost guaranteed to become the league’s first 50-50 player. A historic feat for sure, but Lindor closing in on his second-straight 30-30 season, while rating as one of the best overall defenders in the game with 17 outs above average.

Lindor plays the most taxing position in baseball and he plays every day. He has yet to miss a game this season. It’s tough to overstate just how difficult it is to play 162 games at shortstop.

“I don’t think people understand and it’s very impressive,” said Mets third base coach Mike Sarbaugh. “We almost have to tell him to back off at times, just because he is playing every day, and he’s been so good, day in and day out. Even with a tough start to the season, I didn’t see the guy change.”

Lindor infamously refused to take a day off after his second daughter, Amapola, was born in 2023. That doesn’t diminish his contributions as a father to his two daughters or as a husband to his wife, Katia, because Lindor takes immense pride in being a girl dad and a husband. After a long, tough road trip through San Diego, Arizona and Chicago in August, Lindor said he couldn’t wait to get back to New York because he missed his girls.

Playing every day, “posting up,” as he says, sets an example and sends a message. It says Lindor is present, accountable, available to his teammates who need him, and ready to win.

“Durability is an underrated thing in baseball,” Mets reliever Phil Maton said. “I have the luxury of sitting for most of the games and not paying attention at times. He’s got a primary seat to every play and every pitch being at a premium position defensively. I honestly have no idea how he does it.”

Maton and Sarbaugh both knew Lindor when he was a rising star in Cleveland. Sarbaugh saw him as a young prospect with the pressure of carrying a franchise as a first-round pick. He saw a poised player capable of living up to the hype and eager to take on the weight of a franchise.

“So much talent,” Sarbaugh said. “He came up and was as advertised and more. He brought energy. He’s always been the guy that’s been a very good communicator with the infielders and has been a leader out there. Things haven’t changed.”

Lindor hasn’t changed, but he has grown. He’s the field general, aligning defenders and calling for meetings on the mound to calm pitchers. He’s the leadoff hitter, something new for him this season, and also the emotional leader.

He knew this was the role he would have to play after signing a 10-year, $341 million contract. When you sign a contract like that, you sign on to be a leader, which is why it was so tough for him when he came to New York in 2021.

There was a new owner, a new general manager and new teammates that had to embrace him as a leader. There were limited opportunities for him to show who he was with masks and distancing restrictions. It wasn’t until Buck Showalter was hired in 2022 that the team truly started to come together.

“We were wearing masks and I didn’t really know too many people. Now I understand people,” Lindor said. “I just feel like everything now is geared towards game time. Whatever it takes to make sure we win that day. I think that started with Buck, and then the rest has — little by little — fallen into place.”

When Nimmo signed his eight-year contract in December 2022, he did so knowing he would become a bigger part of the leadership group. The two players couldn’t be more different off the field, but they have the same goals and similar philosophies when it comes to leadership.

They want players to be comfortable showing personality and playing with it, too. They give to the team, and they never take. They lead by example in showing players how to prepare and how to take care of their bodies. If they feel something that could potentially lead to injury, they alert the trainers.

Give credit to the Mets for empowering their players to do this when pro athletes so often feel the need to play injured, but seeing players like Lindor and Nimmo do this sets a standard.

“If one of us sees something that we would like to implement or change, then it’s very easy to bring it to the other person and get their perspective on it,” Nimmo said. “We’re both very understanding of all we want is this team to win. We want short-term and long-term success from this. The most important thing is long-term success, but what can we do in the short-term in order to try and get things moving in the right direction?”

“We’re two different people, but we care about winning,” Lindor said. “It’s a good contrast.”

Of course, leadership isn’t factored into the MVP race. But here’s what should be: Lindor has an OPS over 1.000 in wins this season. Pete Alonso can’t claim that, J.D. Martinez can’t claim that, neither can Nimmo or power-hitting third-baseman Mark Vientos.

Ohtani, however, can claim that. And his OPS in losses is over over 1.000. So maybe the race isn’t quite neck-and-neck.

Consider the 2012 AL MVP race. Miguel Cabrera won the award after becoming the first player to capture the Triple Crown since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Mike Trout, then a rookie, came in second place with a bWAR over 10, almost double Cabrera’s. It was a win for traditional statistics, plus the Los Angeles Angels didn’t make the playoffs and Cabrera’s Detroit Tigers did.

The Mets may not clinch a playoff spot until the final day of the regular season. Awards ballots are submitted the final week of the season, so the fact that Lindor has the Mets so close to a postseason berth could play a role, but the Dodgers are pretty much a lock. That could impact votes as well.

There might not be a wrong answer. Each voter will probably have a slightly different idea of what constitutes value, and Ohtani is cruising toward the Hank Aaron Award for the best offensive season in the NL.

“I wish I had something to do with [the voting],” Nimmo said. “He has led from such a place of being an example, not just saying things, but doing things.”

There are meaningful games to be played for the Mets in the next two weeks in Philadelphia and Atlanta. More time for Lindor to pad his resume and make dazzling plays. For Lindor himself, not about the stats or being an also-ran. It’s about carrying the Mets over the finish line. To him, that’s enough.

“It would be a dream to win it, but it’s all about winning baseball games,” Lindor said. “Winning games, winning games, winning games. That’s all I want to do — win as many games as we can in the next however many days we have left, then winning more.”

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