Pete Alonso has been the glue in Mets' model season
Pete Alonso #20 of the Mets reacts after his fourth inning home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Tuesday, Apr. 29, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Among the 21 wins the Mets have compiled in this young season, there was the one on April 18, when they came from behind against the Cardinals to eventually win on Francisco Lindor’s first walk-off home run as a Met.
Lindor talked up his teammates in general then, but noted one thing in particular. “Pete is one of the guys that, I think he might be one of the most optimistic guys that we have,” he said, referencing Pete Alonso. “He kept on saying, ‘We’re going to win. We’re going to win this game.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we will.'”
In the 11 games since that one, the Mets have won eight times, including Tuesday night’s 8-3 drubbing of the Diamondbacks at Citi Field, where they’re 13-1 this year. And though Lindor is often considered the de facto captain of this team, there is little doubt that Alonso is its beating, bear-size heart. It’s part of the reason it was a little hard to watch his struggles at the plate during his walk year in 2024, and strange to fathom what looked to be a near-inevitable divorce this offseason.
Never has a reconciliation seemed sweeter. And never has $30 million looked like kind of a bargain, actually.
While Alonso is primarily known for his bat, he’s always meant something more to this franchise. He’s a history maker, its vocal cheerleader and, in what is perhaps his most overlooked asset, he anchors a defense that on Tuesday made spectacular play after spectacular play. This, despite metrics that often type him as a below-average first baseman.
“I feel like at times, first basemen in general get penalized a lot for ground balls,” Carlos Mendoza said. “There are some metrics that say a first baseman should get [a] ball when a second baseman is right there ... He’s one of the best at picking the balls out of the dirt. His ability to use the whole bag and footwork, using corner to corner, there’s a lot that he does defensively.”
And, again, there’s the bat.
Against the Diamondbacks, Alonso continued his torrid start, going 2-for-3 with a fourth inning home run that gave him his 614th RBI, tied for fifth in franchise history with Ed Kranepool. He’s hitting .346 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in just 30 games this year, and is 19 shy of Darryl Strawberry’s club record of 252 homers.
Told about matching Kranepool, he responded with his unfiltered brand of enthusiasm. “Oh, sick,” he said. “That’s awesome. Hell yeah. We’ve had just such a tremendous amount of guys come through this organization who are absolute ballers. To be on that list, that’s really cool ... [Kranepool] is one of those cornerstone guys.”
In a lot of ways, it seems like Alonso is playing unburdened. He didn’t get the long contract he wanted, but this year (and this year only), he’s the highest-paid first baseman in baseball, and his $24 million player option for next season puts him in control of his own destiny. He’s back where he wants to be, and psychologically, it feels like that wild-card home run he hit off Devin Williams last year unlocked the version of Alonso that made him so popular with Mets fans originally. (Never mind that it might’ve done the exact opposite for Williams, whose struggles just cost him his closer role in the Bronx.)
And so far, this is the type of season Alonso was probably hoping for the last few years: He hit .217 in 2023 and .240 in 2024, leading a lot of people to openly wonder exactly how attached the Blue Jays were in keeping Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
But while Guerrero is a generational player who, thanks to a recent reported contract extension, will be getting paid as a generational player, Alonso’s continued presence at Citi is the better fit.
Look, this isn't last year’s team, but there are some shadows of the squad that shocked everyone right up until their loss to the Dodgers in the NLCS. And though you don’t want to retain players just for the sake of retaining them — and chemistry is very hard to predict and create — there’s something to be said for continuity. You see it in Alonso’s comfort at the plate, his vocal encouragement in the dugout, and his ability to hold down that defense.
Chemistry “for sure” helps that last one, he said.
“And also understanding everyone’s skill set and how they are as a player," he said. "This group has played together for awhile and everybody that’s new or has been called up, it’s like we have that mutual understanding of each other and that’s what’s really helped us move together as a unit. I think we’ve done a fantastic job ... of not just making plays but anticipating, communicating. We’ve done a great job paying attention to details.”
It's not an easy balance, but Alonso has been a key in achieving it. The corner infielder is a cornerstone, and one who's built a solid foundation to this season so far.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
