FOR PETE’S RAKE
Alonso return to 2019 form needed for Amazin' impact
As a rookie in 2019,
Pete Alonso put together a record-breaking season in which he set the MLB mark for most home runs by a first-year player. The dreaded sophomore jinx struck last year, when Alonso failed to hit his weight for the underachieving Mets.
This campaign has been somewhere in the middle — not as dynamic as his rookie year, but not nearly as disappointing as last summer.
Now, coming off another Home Run Derby title, the Mets hope he can at least veer closer to the former than the latter over the season’s final 75 games. It could be the key to the bottom-of-the-league offense finding its footing.
Alonso has been streaky — terrific numbers in April and June, mediocre ones in May and so far in July. He has been two different players — an All-Star on the road with a .922 OPS and a .275/.333/.588 slash line; an underwhelming performer at home, with a slash line of .218/ .321/.336 with a .658 OPS. Of his 17 homers, just three have come at Citi Field.
“It’s just a matter of being able to capitalize on those pitches,” the first baseman said. “Being hurt, and also playing in doubleheaders and losing a bunch of innings, I feel like that’s kind of hurt my home run totals so far. But honestly, if you look at my atbats, my pace has been excellent. I’m looking to keep it up, and I’ve been feeling really good.”
Even with those home/road splits, Alonso has been the Mets’ most consistent offensive performer of the regulars who have avoided significant injuries. He leads the team in home runs (17), RBIs (49), slugging percentage (.478) and extra-base hits (28). Alonso has picked it up in the power department of late, with four homers in 11 games in July to go along with nine RBIs. He then won the Derby on Monday, becoming just the fourth player to win the hitting competition more than once — joining Prince Fielder, Yoenis Cespedes and Ken Griffey Jr.
Despite the overall underperformance of an offense that is averaging just 3.76 runs per game, the Mets have sat in first place since May 8. That’s mostly a nod to a pitching staff with an ERA of 3.43, which is the fourth-lowest in the sport, and unexpected contributions from the likes of Jonathan Villar, Kevin Pillar and Jose Peraza.
But when the Mets begin play after the break, they will have their full compliment of position players, now that J.D. Davis is finally set to return after being out since May 1 with a sprained left hand.
“It’s really exciting because if you would’ve told me
at the beginning of the season, ‘Hey, listen, you’re going to be in first place at the end of the first half,’ absolutely, I’ll take it,” Alonso said. “It’s going to be great because we get to carry a lot of our great momentum. Everyone’s going to be healthy starting the second half.
“So we’ve got a lot of great pieces that are back now. And for everyone to be healthy, recover and lock it in, it’s going to be a fun time. It’s going to be a fun second half.”
Alonso didn’t want to touch the topic of the July 30 trade deadline and what the Mets may or may not do. There has been speculation they could be involved with a number of different players — whether a starting pitcher, reliever or third baseman.
“That’s not my decision, not my place,” Alonso said. “But I think it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. Every single day is gonna be a battle to continue to stay in first place. It’s a blessing to be in first place at the half, but we’re gonna have our target on our back.”