Alonso slugs way to honor
After winning the Home Run Derby and stroking more homers than any other rookie in major league history, Pete Alonso, the New York Met known to fans as Polar Bear, retreated from the city into hibernation in October.
One of his first stops was Yellowstone National Park. He pitched a tent and camped with his fiancée, Haley Walsh, before going home to Florida, where he went fishing. Last week, he packed his rifle and flew to Colorado, where he went on a dream hunt. His mother, Michelle Alonso, recognized his need to recharge.
“He went off the grid, back to nature,” she said. “Mentally, he’s back.”
Alonso re-emerged Monday night, when Major League Baseball announced that he had won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Alonso, 24, became the sixth Met to be named the top
rookie in his class, joining his teammate Jacob deGrom, who won in 2014, Tom Seaver (1967), Jon Matlack (1972), Darryl Strawberry (1983) and Dwight Gooden (1984).
Alonso’s performance came in an erratic season for the Mets, who missed the playoffs for the third straight year despite outstanding individual performances. His 53 home runs surpassed Aaron Judge’s rookie record of 52 for the New York Yankees in 2017, and he became the first rookie to lead the majors outright in homers. As a rookie in 1987, Mark McGwire hit 49 and shared the lead with the Chicago Cubs’ Andre
Dawson.
In addition, Alonso led all rookies in games played (161), runs batted (120), on base percentage plus slugging (.941), slugging (.583), extra-base hits (85), runs scored (103), walks (72) and total bases (348).
Alonso got 29 of 30 first-place votes for NL Rookie of the Year. Braves righthander Mike Soroka got the other first-place vote and finished second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“To just win the award, doesn’t matter if it’s unanimous or not,” Alonso said. “It’s still such a blessing.”