Unofficial fan projectYoung Pitching and a Pennant
Pete Alonso
First baseman · Mets 2019–2025
The part fans remember
What the numbers leave out.
Alonso showed up in 2019 and immediately started hitting baseballs into places they had no business reaching. The power is obvious, but the reason fans stay with him is that he never seems to shrink from a big moment.
Alonso was a second-round pick in 2016, known for his bat but questioned because of his defense. He forced his way onto the Opening Day roster in 2019 and immediately made every doubt feel small. By the end of his rookie season he had 53 home runs, an MLB rookie record, plus a Home Run Derby title and the Rookie of the Year Award.
The power never became a one-year trick. Alonso kept driving in runs, won another Derby, and set a Mets single-season record with 131 RBI in 2022. He also became one of the most visible voices in the clubhouse. At times his slumps could be ugly and his defense could become a debate, but every at-bat still carried the chance of changing the game with one swing.
That swing came when the Mets needed it most in Milwaukee in 2024. Down to their final two outs in the Wild Card Series, Alonso hit a go-ahead three-run homer that saved the season and changed his own Mets story. He passed Darryl Strawberry in 2025 and finished his Mets run with a club-record 264 homers before leaving for Baltimore.
The honest version
The best stretch
Alonso announced himself with 53 home runs as a rookie in 2019, a major-league rookie record at the time and the highest single-season total in Mets history. The power was obvious, but so was his willingness to carry expectations. He embraced the Home Run Derby, talked openly about loving New York, and made the Polar Bear identity feel natural instead of manufactured. Few Mets have ever become central to the team so quickly.
The part that got messy
His biggest swings did not stop with the regular season. With the Mets facing elimination in Milwaukee in 2024, Alonso hit a ninth-inning three-run homer that saved the season and changed the way his entire career would be remembered. Later, after years of contract questions, he stayed long enough to pass Darryl Strawberry as the franchise’s home-run leader. That record gave the homegrown slugger a permanent place in team history.
Why fans still care
Alonso could be streaky, and fans sometimes expected every at-bat to end in a home run because his best power looked so easy. His Mets run ended after 2025 without the championship he wanted, but the fuller story is still a durable run producer who rarely hid from pressure. He left behind a rookie season, an October rescue, and a franchise record that once seemed built to last forever.
Alonso arrived without any waiting period and started breaking things immediately. The home runs were enormous, but his Mets appeal also came from how openly he enjoyed playing in Queens. He could be streaky and nobody confused him with Keith Hernandez in the field, yet one swing could turn a nervous Citi Field crowd into a celebration. Milwaukee in 2024 made that feeling permanent.
Signature Mets momentA major-league rookie record 53 home runs in 2019.
The short list
The stuff worth remembering.
- 012019 NL Rookie of the Year
- 02Two Home Run Derby titles
- 03Mets career home-run leader