New York Mets: Pete Alonso makes history

As the New York Mets drop the opening game to the Chicago Cubs by the score of 5-2, there was some good news. Pete Alonso hit his 42nd home run of the season. This is a big deal for several reasons. By Alonso hitting this home run, he became the Mets all time season home run leader. In addition, he becomes the first rookie to set his franchise’s single-season home run record since Johnny Rizzo did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938.

The record setting home run was a 407 foot, opposite field shot off of Cubs starter, Yu Darvish. Alonso was highly touted coming into this season. He broke camp with the team and the rest is history. As of this writing, Pete Alonso has a .265 batting average with 42 home runs and 101 runs batted in. While the Mets season has been a roller coaster kind of season, Alonso has been one of the bright spots for this team. Since David Wright isn’t in the picture anymore, it is safe to say that Alonso will be one of the key people who will be a force on this team for the foreseeable future.

Unless something changes, it is safe to say he will probably win the NL Rookie of the Year. The last time a position player won the Rookie of the Year for the Mets was Daryl Strawberry in 1983. We did see Jacob DeGrom win the award in 2014 as a pitcher. If he doesn’t slow down, then you could make the argument for him being in the race for MVP. It’s a long shot, but not out of the realm of possibility.

Alonso has another record ahead of him. With a few weeks left in the season, he needs another 11 home runs to break Aaron Judge’s 2017 rookie record of 52 home runs. The Mets are back in action on Wednesday as they continue the series with the Chicago Cubs.