NEW YORK — Pete Alonso is becoming the most prolific power hitter in Mets history, and it may not end up particularly close.
The above statement does not qualify as hyperbole. It’s backed up by statistics like these: By homering twice in the Mets’ 6-3 win Sunday over the Mariners at Citi Field, Alonso reached 41 home runs and 100 RBIs on the season.
Alonso now owns three of the top six single-season home run totals in franchise history. Over his first five Major League campaigns, one of which was shortened because of the pandemic, Alonso has hit 40-plus homers three times — as many as every other player in the franchise’s 62-year history combined. The only other big leaguers with at least three 40-homer campaigns over their first five seasons are Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard. Two of them are in the Hall of Fame, and a third will be soon.
“I don’t know. I like driving in runs,” Alonso said. “I feel like that’s an art form. You can be taught it, but it takes a lot of discipline.”
At this point, nearly half a decade into Alonso’s Major League career, it would be difficult to doubt his discipline, his muscle or any other applicable trait. Four years after proving himself as one of the game’s foremost sluggers, he has developed a reputation as one of the league’s most consistent performers. Consider Alonso’s marks over the past three seasons:
Home runs:
2021: 37
2022: 40
2023: 41 (and counting)
Slugging percentage:
2021: .519
2022: .518
2023: .525
“It is not easy to be that consistent and to make it look as easy as he’s making it,” said teammate Francisco Lindor, who scored on Alonso’s RBI single in the first inning. “I mean, you’ve still got a month left, and he’s got 40 with [100], on a team that the numbers offensively are not what they were last year.”
Manager Buck Showalter echoed those sentiments, noting that opponents tend to pitch Alonso differently (read: more carefully) than they do others in the lineup. With a man on first in the third inning, for example, Mariners starter George Kirby threw Alonso four consecutive breaking balls, the last of which he hung over the inner half of the plate. Alonso pulled it a Statcast-projected 385 feet down the left-field line over Citi Field’s original black outfield fence.
Three innings later, reliever Trent Thornton broke from the script, starting Alonso out with two breaking pitches before trying to elevate a 1-1 fastball. But Thornton didn’t get his heater up enough, leaving it chest-high for Alonso to punish 397 feet to left-center, per Statcast.
“He impacts the ball,” Showalter said. “He impacts the ball hard, and he’s got coverage. He’s got plate coverage. … It’s not like he’s got a one-spot honey hole, so to speak. There are multiple pitches that he hits.”
Already, Alonso has 187 career homers, which ranks fifth on the Mets’ list behind Darryl Strawberry, David Wright, Mike Piazza and Howard Johnson (the latter of whom he could pass this season). If Alonso sticks in Flushing long-term, he is a near lock to become the Mets’ all-time home run king — likely early in 2025.
But Alonso’s team control only runs through the end of next season, raising a spate of recent questions regarding his future. The Mets don’t yet know whether they will be able to re-sign Alonso, and they may not have a firm answer until he reaches free agency. When asked, Alonso is routinely effusive about his love for the Mets and the city of New York. But until he actually puts pen to paper on an extension, questions will persist — particularly when viewed through the prism of a club that isn’t certain how competitive it will be in 2024.
All that’s clear now is that Alonso is nearly certain to keep bashing homers somewhere, and if it happens to be Queens, then he could become the most decorated power hitter the borough has ever seen. Almost no Major Leaguer has had a start to a career quite like this. Literally no one has done it with the Mets.
“It’s kind of wild to think about,” Alonso said. “Honestly, it’s kind of just happened so far. It seems like just yesterday I was in my rookie season. This is my fifth year. I mean, time flies. It means a lot. This place has been extremely special to me. New York has treated me so incredibly well. … It’s been really awesome so far, and it’s a blessing for sure.”
