First baseman Pete Alonso of the New York Mets was asked to evaluate his season by reporters in St. Louis on Monday after being moved to fifth in the batting order for that game due to difficulties with runners in scoring position. He claimed that it was useless to constantly criticize himself. Alonso talked about how this season he got selected as an All-Star. He also calculated that he was on track for “close to 40 home runs.”
Alonso was mostly correct. In fact, he was the only representative from the Mets and was named to the All-Star team for the fourth time. However, the decision was impacted by Major League Baseball’s wish for Alonso to compete in the Home Run Derby, as previously reported by The Athletic. Furthermore, Alonso was really on pace to hit roughly 33 home runs when he responded to the question prior to Monday’s game. Thus, following a series loss to the humble Los Angeles Angels, many New York supporters voiced their predictable level of annoyance with those remarks.
But then Thursday happened.
At hitter-friendly Coors Field, Alonso launched two mammoth home runs, totaling 925 feet, within the first three innings of the Mets’ series-winning 9-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Yes, this was before the score got out of hand.
Pete Alonso has hit two homers a combined 925 feet today.
— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2024
Oh, and it's only the third inning 🤯 pic.twitter.com/7wUvLGoQaA
Alonso’s home run average increased to almost 35 after he hit 25 home runs in the Mets’ first 115 games. 40 is still a long way off. However, Alonso made it clear to reporters on Thursday that it does not have to be; while he thinks milestones are wonderful, his main goal is to help the team win.
The Mets (61-54) passed the slipping Atlanta Braves (60-54) for the last wild-card slot in the National League, matching a season-high seven games above.500 and advancing into postseason contention. 47 games remain for the Mets.
Alonso still has time to put together a brutal period of play, the kind he can carry the Mets for about a month. He has not yet had a month in 2024 where he hit ten home runs or more or had an OPS above.900. He has exceeded each of those numbers in at least one month every other season, and occasionally he has topped both of them more than once. Maybe Alonso has that kind of month in August—he is off to a great start with a.320 batting average and three home runs.
The Mets and Alonso would both benefit from such timing. Many things are on the line. The club is still in a close competition for the playoffs. Furthermore, Alonso is nearing the end of his platform season and is one month away from free agency.
The statistics point to Alonso having a respectable but unremarkable season. Alonso was seventh in wRC+ (123), seventh in OPS (.789), eighth in fWAR (1.6), and second in home runs among big league first basemen as of Thursday’s play. He was tied for second place only with Bryce Harper and Josh Naylor.
He is accustomed to higher figures. In three of his last four complete seasons, he has hit at least 40 home runs (he hit 37 in 2021). His lifetime wRC+ is 132, and his OPS is.858. Typically, his fWAR falls between 3.0 and 4.0.
His ground-ball percentage (42.4 percent) is up, and his figures with runners in scoring position stand out as unusual, even though his hard-hit rate (42.6 percent), walk rate (9.9 percent), and strikeout rate (21.7 percent) all match his career norms. Anecdotally, the grounders have appeared late and in close quarters, among other inappropriate moments. Alonso has a career OPS of.910 when there are runners in scoring position. However, Alonso had just a.694 OPS with three home runs in 2024 with runners in scoring position prior to Thursday’s game. Alonso’s first home run of the game on Thursday, which made the score 4-0 with J.D. Martinez on second base, was a significant step in the right direction.
With his impressive performance, Alonso’s second-half totals increased to six home runs and a.980 OPS. He had a.772 OPS with 19 home runs before to the All-Star break. Over the course of his career, Alonso’s OPS has improved from the first half (.849) to the second half (.877).
A strong second half can make all the difference in the discussion of whether Alonso is having a successful season or not. It is a fair fight with some good and some bad figures. Think about: It was his first multi-homer game since April 13 and only his second of the season on Thursday. With three hits in a game this season, he tied for the most.
Alonso stated to The Athletic a few weeks ago that the Mets’ post-season run in 2022, rather than his rookie year of 2019 when he hit 53 home runs, was the most enjoyable experience he had with the team. Those who know him well say that is accurate, and considering how much time Alonso spends trying to get better at defense, it is easy to believe them.
The game on Thursday was a reminder that Alonso still has a little window of opportunity in 2024 to lead the team to the postseason and put up respectable individual stats.
(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)
