“The thing I love most about this game is failure, and how humbling the game is. It doesn’t matter who you are, or how much money you make. It doesn’t matter how good you are now. At some point you’re going to fail; at some point the game will bring you back down to earth.” – Francisco Lindor

Failure is constant in baseball. Strikeouts are inevitable. Errors happen. Slumps plague even the most consistent hitters. It finds every player at some point, but failure isn’t final.

Those who allow failure to humble them and who take its lessons to heart are often rewarded. Some players harness that humility and combine it with their pride and purpose to ignite a passion that fuels them past failure.

Passion is a defining trait of Francisco Lindor. It shines through his personality, his smile, his attitude, even his hair. It’s a genuine love for the game that’s reflected in the way he plays, but also in the way he approaches failure.

“The thing I love most about this game is failure,” Lindor said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. At some point the game will bring you back down to earth.”

Lindor’s authentic humility and commitment to learning from failure has made him into the player he is today. A player that in just two and half full seasons has amassed a .290 career batting average, 61 homers, 223 RBI and 49 stolen bases.

In 2015, Lindor was 2^nd in Rookie of the Year voting and followed that up with back-to-back All-Star selections and a trip to the World Series in 2016.

Beyond baseball, Lindor says his passion comes from his family- his three siblings and his father who coached him his whole life. It also comes from his home in Puerto Rico, where he lived until age 12 before moving to Florida. Lindor has been heralded by fellow Puerto Ricans as an inspiration and role model for his performance on the field, but also for his commitment to assisting in recovery efforts following last year’s devastating hurricanes.

Lindor’s passion for the game is unmistakable; it’s more than a feeling or a temporary motivation. It’s part of who he is, and according to Lindor, it’s not going anywhere.

“This is just who I am,” said Lindor. “I’m Francisco Lindor, and that’s who I’m always going to be.”