New season of Café con Lindor features Eladio Carrión in Episode 1

Francisco Lindor launched a new season of his podcast Café con Lindor on Wednesday, in which the Mets shortstop invites celebrities to chat about culture, fashion, everyday life and of course, baseball.

In the first episode of the new season, Lindor is joined by fellow Puerto Rican and Spanish Trap star, Eladio Carrión. With their cortadito coffees in hand, they reminisced about their childhoods in Puerto Rico -- though not before Lindor was surprised to learn that Carrión had a diverse geographical journey before residing on the island more permanently.

Carrión explained that he was born in Kansas City, Kan., because his father was in the military, and that the family lived in various places in the continental U.S. -- including Alaska -- before they settled in Humacao, Puerto Rico, when Carrión was 11.

"Alaska? I had never heard of a Puerto Rican living in Alaska," Lindor said upon learning about one of Carrión's stops.

"There are quite a few!" Carrión replied. "There are a lot of Dominicans. There’s a community. But I didn't see [much of the culture], because I was always at the base.”

Once settled in on the island, Carrión immersed himself in the sport of swimming, to the point of participating in the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010 and the Pan American Games in 2011.

Carrión acknowledged that by practicing this discipline, he can understand, along with Lindor, the hard work necessary to reach a high level in any athletic field. However, Carrión added that it is much more difficult to stand in a batter’s box and deliver a big hit than to be on stage at a concert.

"You have it harder," Carrión said. "They come to see me and they know the music. I sing, and if I miss a word, they don't even notice because of the music. Everyone expects you to perform. The pressure on an athlete is much greater."

The commonalities between Lindor and Carrión don't end in sports. Both now have shoe deals with New Balance.

The Mets shortstop launched the new edition of the FuelCell Lindor 3 line at the beginning of this year. And Carrión revealed on the show that he has also been working with New Balance on designing his own collection.

"We have been in development for two years, a year and a half already," Carrión said. "We have almost four pairs that we love, two that are totally [wonderful]. We have the box ready and everything. It will be called Primeros Pasos/First Steps."

During the conversation, Carrión revealed that he is also an avid collector of Pokémon cards and, of course, baseball cards -- adding that he is close to completing a series of Lindor's cards. He also promised to help the infielder start diving into the hobby.

"I have been collecting cards for a long time. After music, that's my passion," Carrión said. "I have three [cards] of yours -- I'm missing two. The [Immaculate] Series: The 5 Lindor. I already have three, I need the last two to complete it."

But perhaps the greatest revelation was what Lindor shared when talking about two cards given to him years ago.

"I'll tell you something that breaks my heart," Lindor said. "My brother, after I signed, gave me a Roberto Alomar card and a Roberto Clemente card. Alomar’s was signed, and I put it in my pocket.”

And with that sentence, Lindor gestured that the card was lost forever.

All Carrión could respond was, "Those cards never go there, brother."