Pete Alonso may have felt a sense of relief on Tuesday night. Record-breaking players often feel that way. Move over, Darryl Strawberry. That said, now Alonso has to focus on another task — carrying the Mets on his back.
Tuesday night, Alonso homered twice in the Mets’ 13-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. He broke the record in the third inning, giving the Mets a 5-1 lead over the Braves. Then Alonso hit his 254th home run in the sixth inning, extending the Mets’ lead to 11-5. Those slams put him two dingers ahead of Darryl Strawberry’s 252 in the all-time Mets’ home run derby.
Alonso could also take pleasure in his accomplishment instead of dwelling on another Mets loss. Now the quest is getting the Mets back on track in their pursuit of making the playoffs for the second straight season, along with winning the NL East.
The Mets gained a game in the NL East standings with a win and the Philadelphia Phillies’ 5-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. They now trail the division-leading Phillies by five games.
While some say the Mets should focus on holding on to a wild-card spot, I think that’s nonsense. The division is still winnable, especially because New York has seven games left against the Phillies, including three at Citi Field in two weeks.
As frustrating as he can be by being streaky in a bad way, we need Alonso to get hot. A difference-maker, think back to when he hit a three-run home run against Brewers closer Devin Williams in Game 3 of the wild-card series last year. He was 1-for-11 in the series before hitting that home run. He went on to finish the postseason by hitting .273 with four home runs, driving in 10 runs, and having a slash line of .431/.568/.999.
That postseason run convinced Mets owner Steve Cohen to bring back his free agent slugger for ’25. He understood what he had from his star player, and realized it would be foolish to let him go in his prime.
Alonso will now try to recreate that magic with 43 games remaining, and the Polar Bear is already having another fine season. He is hitting .267 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI with a slash line of .352/.528/.880, and let’s hope that Tuesday’s two-fer is a precursor for a great September.
The Mets need a leader who can show the way, and Alonso is the guy to do so. Yes, Francisco Lindor has shown he can do that, too, based on his excellent season last year that was good enough for him to be the MVP runner-up. Here’s hoping that he snaps out of his malaise becaiuse he’s too good to keep slumping.
But it’s easy to trust Alonso because he’s built for this. He knows how to flourish in this market, takes his leadership role seriously, and no one on this team wants to win more than he does. Along with Lindor, Alonso takes pride in being “the guy” for the Mets.
It’s only fitting Alonso was the guy to break Strawberry’s record. They both share the same attributes of being winners for the Amazin’s. There’s a reason why both are beloved Mets. As Buck Showalter once said, we often take Alonso for granted because it comes so easily for him. But he has experienced being down. He struggled for most of last season, and there have been times this season when he has been in a funk. Nevertheless, he’s dependable, and that’s a valuable asset.
The Mets have a chance to turn thigs around and make a postsseason run, and it sure seems like now is the right time for the Polar Bear to make his presence felt. September will be here before we realize it, and the Mets are going to need to grind it out from here to achieve what we all hope they’re capable of.
