Pete Alonso is having a banner rookie season…
With 42 games left to play, the 24-year-old part-Spanish American professional baseball player’s season already ranks among the more productive campaigns in New York Mets history.
Alonso has owned the franchise’s rookie home run record for weeks; Thursday, in a 10-8 win over the Atlanta Braves, he hit his 39th to match Cody Bellinger for the most by a rookie in National League history.
Passing Bellinger seems a foregone conclusion, as does the Mets’ overall franchise record for homers: 41, which Todd Hundley and Carlos Beltran share.
Beyond that, two significant standards loom: the Major League rookie home run record, which Aaron Judgeset with 52 in 2017, and the Mets’ overall RBI record, which Mike Piazzaand David Wrightshare with 124. Alonso is just ahead of the pace needed to set the former, and a hair behind the rate required for the latter.
“There are a lot of records out there,” Mets manager Mickey Callawaysaid. “I know he’s not too worried about that. He just wants to put together good at-bats and play good defense. But he’s stockpiling them.”
Many of Alonso’s home runs have resembled the one he hit Thursday: a 110.6-mph, 451-foot shot to straightaway center field, according to Statcastdata, one of nine he has hit at least 440 feet this season. (No Major Leaguer has more.) Alonso also singled home two runs in the fifth inning and another in the seventh, finishing with a career-high five hits and six RBIs. He and shortstop Amed Rosariobecame the first pair of Mets to collect five hits in the same game in franchise history, while Rosario became just the sixth to have four-plus hits in multiple games.
“I’m really happy,” Rosario said through an interpreter, “but I’m also really happy for him because he was able to tie the rookie record for home runs.”
Over the past three weeks, Alonso has gone deep even more frequently than he did before the break.
“I want to be the best version of myself every single day,” Alonso said. “Baseball’s a game of failure, and that’s really difficult to do and maintain throughout 162 games. I felt like the second half, it really hasn’t been what I’ve wanted after having the first half I had. … I was kind of just frustrated after a while because I know that I’m better.”
Games like Thursday provide the proof. Record books already hold the evidence. Time will tell how many all-time marks Alonso will ultimately set, though he’s about to have one more all to himself.
“I don’t stand alone,” Alonso said of the NL rookie record. “I’m tied. Hopefully, I keep on going and keep pushing forward. Hopefully, I can stand alone in that category.”