NEW YORK -- David Stearns is not prone to hyperbole. Generally, the Mets¡¯ president of baseball operations likes to keep his comments confined to the little slice of reality directly in front of him. But when asked Tuesday afternoon about the National League MVP race, Stearns posited, without any prodding, that Francisco Lindor is having ¡°perhaps the greatest individual position-player season in the history of this franchise.¡±

¡°I¡¯ve been around some really special seasons,¡± Stearns continued. ¡°I¡¯ve been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there.¡±

Whether Lindor wins the first MVP in Mets history remains an open question, which he and Shohei Ohtani will spend the next four weeks answering. In the interim, Lindor continues -- as his boss said -- working his way into franchise lore.

His two-run homer Tuesday -- which elicited a loud chorus of ¡°M-V-P!¡± chants from the Citi Field faithful -- gave the Mets a lead they never relinquished in a 7-2 win over the Red Sox, which also featured a standout effort from David Peterson on his 29th birthday to keep the Mets a half-game behind the Braves for the final NL Wild Card spot.

¡°Every time he¡¯s at the plate, there¡¯s a good feeling,¡± Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Lindor. ¡°He¡¯s locked in right now.¡±

In no uncertain terms, Lindor is giving the Mets an MVP-caliber effort. He has played in all 139 of the team¡¯s games with a .273/.343/.500 slash line, 30 homers and 26 stolen bases. Among his other accolades:

• Lindor on Tuesday reached 30 home runs for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in his career, matching Ernie Banks for the second-most 30-homer seasons by a primary shortstop in Major League history. (Alex Rodriguez has the most, with seven.)
• He¡¯s also one of six switch-hitters with at least five 30-homer seasons, joining Mickey Mantle, Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones, Lance Berkman and Eddie Murray.

• Lindor is on pace for another 30-30 season, which would make him the eighth player to produce back-to-back 30-30 campaigns.
• He leads the NL with 7.2 fWAR and entered Tuesday¡¯s play ranked second behind Ohtani with 6.2 bWAR.

Statistically speaking, it hasn¡¯t yet been the best season by a position player in franchise history. But it¡¯s getting there. Here¡¯s a look at the other top contenders:

David Wright, 2007
fWAR: 8.4
bWAR: 8.3

The summer of 2007 was not only the best of Wright¡¯s career, but part of a four-season stretch that saw him hit over .300, slug over .500 and produce an OPS over .900 every year. It was Hall of Fame-caliber stuff, highlighted by a 2007 season that was the only 30-30 effort of Wright¡¯s career. He batted .325/.416/.546 with 30 homers, 34 steals, 107 RBIs and 113 runs scored, which earned him a Silver Slugger. It was also one of Wright¡¯s finest defensive seasons, winning him the first of two consecutive Gold Gloves at third base.

Carlos Beltrán, 2006
fWAR: 7.8
bWAR: 8.2

Generally considered the second-best position-player season in Mets history, Beltr¨¢n¡¯s 2006 campaign also included a little of everything. He batted .275/.388/.594 with 41 homers -- at the time, tied for the franchise record -- as well as 38 doubles and 18 stolen bases. Like Wright the following year, Beltr¨¢n won a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove, though his defensive efforts came at an up-the-middle position in center field. If not for a series of minor leg injuries that limited Beltr¨¢n to 140 games, he might have finished with the greatest Mets year of them all.

John Olerud, 1998
fWAR: 8.1
bWAR: 7.6

Only one player in Mets history has reached base 300 times in a season, and that was Olerud ¡­ in 1999. Yet the second of Olerud¡¯s three seasons in Flushing was actually the better one, as he set team records in batting average (.354) and on-base percentage (.447) that still stand today. Olerud may not have played a premium defensive position like Beltr¨¢n, but he was widely considered one of the best first basemen of his generation.

All of the Mets¡¯ best offensive seasons have come in the last 40 years, including efforts from Howard Johnson, Mike Piazza, Bernard Gilkey and Darryl Strawberry. And Lindor has a chance to finish right there with them. He ended Tuesday¡¯s game with 7.2 fWAR, which is an 8.4-win pace -- the exact same as Wright in 2007.

With 23 games to go, Lindor still must complete the job. But all recent evidence points to him doing so.

¡°At the end of the day, I appreciate the love the fans are giving me,¡± Lindor said. ¡°I¡¯ve just got to continue putting up a good show for them, so it keeps on getting louder and louder.¡±