Mets’ Francisco Lindor makes Hall of Fame plea for team legend after reaching hits milestone

NEW YORK — On a night where Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor should have embraced the spotlight, he opted to point it elsewhere.

In the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins on a frigid Monday evening, his single in the fifth inning marked his 1,500th hit of his career. This made him the 24th active player to reach the milestone and one of nine players to have at least that many hits since 2015.

Still, Lindor, who admits he’d “love” to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame someday, said he believes another legendary Met deserves to be there first.

“I would love to be there one day, but it’s still very far from me,” Lindor told reporters after the game. “Looking at a guy like Carlos Beltran (who) has twice the numbers I have today, and he’s not in there right now. I think he should be a Hall of Famer. You have guys l ike Jimmy Rollins, who I think should also be in the Hall of Fame, that are not in it.”

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Beltran will likely get into the Hall of Fame next season after getting 70.3% of the vote this year — eligible players need to get 75% of the vote to get in. The dynamic outfielder batted .279 with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases in 20 seasons.

Rollins, who received 18% of the vote on his fourth ballot, appears to be a long shot. He’ll need to significantly increase his votes in his remaining six ballots to stand a chance

Lindor continues to stay hot, increasing his batting average from .172 to .242 after going 3-for-4 (all singles). It was his first multi-hit game of the season. The shortstop has recorded a hit in each of his last six games.

Unlike last season, when he was 1-for-31 to start the season, Lindor is 8-for-33 in his first 10 games.

“He’s using the whole field,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “When he’s going the other way, hitting line drives, that’s a good sign.”

Lindor is using the whole field to record hits early in the season — even the infield.

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Like in the third inning of Monday’s 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins. Leading off the inning, Lindor laid down a perfect bunt down the third baseline for a hit.

“(I’m) trying to make something happen,” Lindor said.

Lindor wound up scoring from first base after right-fielder Juan Soto hit a 367-foot double, splitting the outfielders in left-center. This gave the Mets a 1-0 lead and ended up being the only run they needed to win the game.

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Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.