At the beginning of 2025, Pete Alonso was more out than in with the New York Mets. The first baseman rejected several offers from the organization in free agency and Steve Cohen, the franchise’s owner, described the negotiations as exhausting, which indicated that the slugger would have to look for work with another Major League team.
In fact, the Mets began to prepare for the 2025 season without Alonso, taking advantage of the fact that they had already closed the deal to sign Juan Soto. However, the management could not escape the pressure from the New York fans and media, and ended up signing the first baseman, an idol in Queens after spending his entire career there since his debut in 2019.
Seven months later, Pete Alonso has proven Steve Cohen wrong, proving that he was a very necessary piece on the team. The first baseman has already hit 23 home runs, has an OPS of .849 and leads the team in doubles (26) and RBIs (83). It’s unlikely the Mets would have found another player as productive at first base if they had gone to the free agent market in the offseason.
As an additional detail, Alonso is on his way to becoming the greatest home run hitter in Mets history. On Saturday in the game against San Francisco, the “Polar Bear” hit a ball beyond the limits in the very first inning against pitcher Kai-Wei Teng and reached 250 home runs wearing the uniform of the Queens-based franchise.
“I feel really special. I’m happy to help the team,” Alonso said. Alonso is now just two home runs away from tying Darryl Strawberry for the all-time lead in the organization. The outfielder hit 252 home runs in 1,109 games with the Mets, a figure Pete is expected to reach in almost 150 fewer games.
A unique home run hitter
“One of the best power hitters of this generation. I saw him as a young man break the home run record for rookies. Obviously, no record is out of his reach, especially because of his swing, his mastery of mechanics and the use he makes of his body and size”.
With these words, Dominic Smith, Alonso’s former teammate with the Mets, defined him, making it clear that the first baseman has a unique talent and has been able to exploit it. Since making his major league debut in 2019, only Aaron Judge (269) has more home runs than the Mets star, who has surpassed the 30-homer mark in each of his MLB seasons, except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
In any case, right now Alonso is not focused on records, as his main goal is to push the Mets to another level. Since he joined the franchise, he has only managed to play in the postseason twice and just last year they fell just short of advancing to the World Series.
The record is something really special and meaningful, but right now, in the heat of the moment, I’m not too focused or worried about it.
“I want to take advantage of opportunities when they come and help the team win. That’s all I’m worried about. The record is something really special and meaningful, but right now, in the heat of the moment, I’m not too focused or worried about that.
“I’m focused on the wins and what I can do to help this team win every game. We’re in the middle of a playoff race, and I’ll think about everything else when I have time. Right now, it’s all about the team,” he said.
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