WASHINGTON — Francisco Lindor hit the 300th home run of his major-league career on Sunday, reaching the milestone in the New York Mets’ final game of the regular season against the Washington Nationals.
Lindor connected against left-hander DJ Herz in the second inning at Nationals Park. The solo drive was his 21st homer of 2026 and ended a 13-game stretch without one, after he had hit two against the Yankees on September 12.
The ball travelled a projected 409 feet with an exit velocity of 110.8 mph, according to MLB’s report. Lindor followed a Ronny Mauricio home run, giving the Mets consecutive homers after rain delayed the start of the game by about an hour.
The milestone placed Lindor in a particularly small group. He became the 11th switch-hitter to reach 300 home runs and only the second, alongside Carlos Beltrán, to combine that total with at least 200 stolen bases.
MLB, citing the Elias Sports Bureau, also identified him as the fifth player to reach 300 while having played at least half of his career games at shortstop. The others were Ernie Banks, Cal Ripken Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada.
Lindor’s power developed first in Cleveland, where he hit 138 home runs before his move to New York. Cleveland selected him eighth overall in the 2011 draft, and he made his major-league debut in 2015, batting .313 with 12 home runs in 99 games.
The Mets acquired him in January 2021 and later agreed to a 10-year, $341 million extension running through 2031. He has since produced two 30-homer, 30-steal seasons and delivered the grand slam that helped New York eliminate Philadelphia in the 2024 National League Division Series.
Sunday’s achievement arrived at the end of a more difficult season. Lindor entered the finale batting .222, and the Mets had already missed the postseason for a second consecutive year.
The round-number milestone nevertheless gave the final afternoon a lasting individual marker: Lindor’s combination of power, speed and years at shortstop had carried him into company occupied by relatively few players.
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This page is an original Sporting Page summary. The reporting remains with MLB — Bobby Blanco.
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