Mets fans are out of their element thinking Francisco Lindor deserves MVP over Shohei Ohtani

If you've been on Twitter at all over the past few weeks, you've been subjected to a tireless debate that's sure to rage on well through October, if the Mets can hang onto their precarious spot in the Wild Card. It's Shohei Ohtani vs. Francisco Lindor for MVP, and Mets fans are getting loud enough that it might seem like their guy really does have a fair shot at breezing by Ohtani for his first MVP win after six candidacies across both leagues.

The MVP chants at Citi Field have gotten even more intense since Lindor hit his 30th home run of the season against the Red Sox on Sept. 3, becoming only the third shortstop ever to hit 30 homers in at least five seasons, following Alex Rodriguez and Ernie Banks.

That, and the fact that Lindor plays the field everyday, are what Mets fans will point to make the case for their multi-million dollar man over the Dodgers'. Ohtani can't win MVP! He doesn't play a position!

There's no doubt that Lindor will finish strong in MVP voting. If the Mets play into October, it could be even closer. Still, there's just no way that Lindor beats Ohtani, especially with 50-50 looking more likely than not through these last few games of the season.

Mets fans are pushing for a Francisco Lindor MVP, but Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani remains the rightful frontrunner as he nears 50-50 season

Ohtani does have historical bias working against him in his own MVP argument. No pure DH has ever won MVP, although David Ortiz did get close many times (although he didn't even need a win to make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot). But Ohtani is in uncharted territory, and has been ever since he stepped over the 42-42 threshold. Alfonso Soriano went into the 40-40 Club with 46 homers and 41 stolen bases, Ronald Acuña did it with 41 homers and 73 steals, but no one has been able to top in both categories like Ohtani. As soon as he gets to 47-47, he'll be entirely in a league of his own.

Mets fans also like to brandish WAR in their argument for Lindor; Lindor's fWAR is 7.2, Ohtani's is 6.8. But there's even disagreement among the statheads: Baseball Reference has Ohtani at 7.2 and Lindor at 6.3. If you want to bring even more metrics into it, we can: Lindor only tops Ohtani in two offensive categories, doubles and hitting with RISP (although Ohtani hits much, much better than Lindor with two outs and runners in scoring position).

Ohtani is on pace for not only a 50-50 season but 52-52, and he's done that while simultaneously rehabbing from elbow surgery last season as he works to make a pitching comeback next year. Mets fans are inevitably going to get even louder over the next few weeks, but Ohtani's already made his argument clear. He has more hits, more home runs, more stolen bases, more RBI, higher average, higher OPS, and Lindor wasn't even doing well enough through the first few months of the season to get an All-Star nod.

The choice is clear here. Mets fans can keep crying about it.