NEW YORK (AP) — After more than 11 months and hundreds of singalongs, “My Girl” finally has some company atop the charts at Citi Field.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, whose pivot to The Temptations’ “My Girl” as his walk-up song last May coincided with a turnaround in fortunes for Lindor and his teammates, added “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — the 1967 duet by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell — to his rotation prior to his second at-bat in Friday's 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
“It’s the vibes — the vibes I’m in right now,” Lindor said with a grin Friday night. “I think it’s a fantastic song. Hopefully the fans can vibe to it, too.”
Lindor’s success with “My Girl” and the accompanying pop culture sensation made his pivot a surprise to the 41,243 fans in attendance Friday, if not his teammates.
Lindor was batting .210 and the Mets were 22-30 when he debuted “My Girl” last May 28, but Lindor hit .306 the rest of the way and finished second in NL MVP balloting as New York made it to the National League Championship Series. The Temptations performed the song, along with the national anthem, prior to Game 5 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lindor hit a leadoff homer for the first-place Mets on Friday — his 34th round-tripper in 137 games since introducing “My Girl.”
“There were some fans that yelled at me,” Lindor said. “But there were some other ones that were singing.”
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who is walking up to Eric Clapton’s “Layla” this year after using Rush’s “Working Man” and Don McLean’s “American Pie” in previous seasons, said Lindor hinted at the change during the just-concluded road trip to St. Louis and Arizona.
“He said he was going to do it and no one believed him,” Alonso said Saturday. “I think it’s a good one — that’s a great walk-up song.”
Lindor acknowledged some teammates wanted him to stick with “My Girl” and said he’d alternate the songs in hopes his new selection grows in popularity.
“Man, the movie ‘Remember The Titans’ — who doesn’t know that?” Lindor said, referring to the song’s usage in the 2000 film. “It’s a great song. So we’ll see if it catches on. If it doesn’t catch on — since I got pushback from some people — they’re still going to get ‘My Girl.’”
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New York Mets' Luisangel Acuña, right, celebrates with Francisco Lindor after a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Friday, May 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Francisco Lindor (12) runs the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Friday, May 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Mets' Francisco Lindor (12) gestures to Juan Soto as he scores on a single by Soto during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Friday, May 9, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid and apparently snubbing U.S.-led peace efforts as the war approaches the four-year mark.
Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.
One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said. The daytime temperature in the capital was -12 C (around 10 F). The streets were covered with ice, and the city rumbled with the noise from generators.
Four days earlier, Russia also sent hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack and, for only the second time in the war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in what appeared to be a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies that it won’t back down.
On Monday, the United States accused Russia of a “ dangerous and inexplicable escalation ” of the fighting, when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations.
Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores “the staggering number of casualties” in the conflict and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.
Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water in the freezing winter months over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”
In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the Russian attack also wounded 10 people, local authorities said.
In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded in the attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure, a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility and a number of residential buildings, he said.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed upon air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe, as well as new pledges of aid, to counter Russia’s latest onslaught.
Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. Seven were reportedly destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region, where Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog, about 40 kilometers (about 24 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, in Kyiv's latest long-range attack on Russian war-related facilities.
Ukraine’s military said domestically-produced drones hit a drone manufacturing facility in Taganrog. The Atlant Aero plant carries out design, manufacturing and testing of Molniya drones and components for Orion unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Explosions and a fire were reported at the site, with damage to production buildings confirmed, the General Staff said.
It wasn't possible to independently verify the reports.
Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
