CLEVELAND _ Francisco Lindor remembers the day he and Javier Baez first had the eyes of the baseball world upon them.
It was Feb. 17, 2011, just a few months before the two Puerto Rican-born stars would become first-round draft choices, shortstop Lindor selected No. 8 by the Indians, infielder Baez No. 9 by the Chicago Cubs.
An estimated 150 baseball personnel gathered at Lindor's Montverde Academy in Clermont, Fla., about 30 miles west of Orlando, to see Lindor and Baez, of Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Fla.
Both put on a show at the plate; Lindor recalled his team lost.
"I remember looking around and watching his BP (batting practice) and how he carried himself and thinking, 'Wow, he's going to be good,' " Lindor said of Baez on Monday.
Now friends, Lindor and Baez squared off again Tuesday night in Game 1 of the World Series at Progressive Field.
Lindor came in leading the Indians in hitting in the postseason with a .323 average and his four RBI were tied for the team lead with Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis. Lindor's two-run home run in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series provided all the runs the Indians would need against the Toronto Blue Jays. In Game 2, Lindor drove in the game-winning run with a single to center.
Baez was named co-MVP of the National League Championship Series with left-hander John Lester. In the Cubs' run to their first World Series since 1945, Baez led the team with seven RBIs and tied for the lead in hits with 13.
The postseason performance by Baez does not surprise Lindor.
"For a very long time I've been watching him," Lindor said. "I always believed in him."
Asked what he saw in a young Baez, Lindor said, "He had quick hands, he had swag. He was electric and he was always that one player that everybody stopped and watched, whether it was BP, he was going to swing as hard as he could and if he got a hold of one, good luck.
"I'm super happy for him, super happy for his family, they deserved it."
The two families celebrated Thanksgiving together in 2014. Lindor supported Baez after the April 2015 death of Baez's sister Noely from complications from spina bifida.
"It was super difficult. I'm sure every single thing he's doing right now he's doing for his sister," Lindor said. "His sister was his world. She could say whatever and he was going to do it. I feel bad, but at the same time he's doing everything for her.
"She's in the sky watching him and smiling with that big smile she always had, that charisma she always had. She always wanted to help people."
Lindor, 22, and his family moved to Florida when he was 12. That's the same age Baez, now 23, was when his father Angel died, falling on the bathroom floor and hitting his head. His mother took their four children and headed to Jacksonville.
Lindor embraces his roots and answered several questions in Spanish Monday. Asked about the recent success of middle infielders from his country, Lindor said, "I'm glad the attention is back on Puerto Rico. There's a lot of good players in Puerto Rico that got overlooked. I'm happy that players are going to get noticed more and more players will come. They play great baseball there year-round."
