As promised, Lindor gets McNeil a new car ... 1 year later

November 20th, 2023

NEW YORK -- In 2022, Jeff McNeil won the National League batting title. In 2023, he won a brand new car.

Francisco Lindor has made good on his promise that if McNeil won the ’22 batting title, he would get his teammate a new set of wheels. The transaction finally took place last week, when McNeil became the proud owner of a blue Ford Bronco, according to his agent, Garrett Parcell.

The story began in May 2022, when Lindor said during a casual clubhouse conversation that he would buy McNeil a car if the second baseman won the batting title. At the time, McNeil was red-hot, going 2-for-4 in a series opener in Philadelphia to improve his average to .348. And he didn’t slow much from there, finishing the season with a .326 average to top Freddie Freeman by one percentage point.

Over the year that followed, Lindor was cryptic when asked about the car, saying frequently that he would make good on the bet but that he didn’t know when or where. The shortstop finally came through this November with the Bronco.

McNeil and Lindor have been teammates for three seasons, since the latter joined the team in 2021.