Pete Alonso

Three Current New York Mets Who Will Make Their Hall of Fame

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

With the New York Mets announcing their 2020 Hall of Fame class, there are a few candidates who could see their way into the Mets Hall of Fame once their careers end. They will likely join a group which features Tom Seaver, John Franco, and Mike Piazza.

Jacob deGrom

Jacob deGrom has made himself a lock for the Mets Hall of Fame but will need a few more great years to put himself in Baseball’s Hall. deGrom is coming off back-to-back Cy Young award seasons and has a 2.62 ERA over his six big league seasons. He also has three All-Star selections, two top-10 MVP finishes, and a Rookie of the Year award to his name. deGrom’s statistical achievements include an ERA title, strikeout title and a share of the record for the most strikeouts to start a game.

Jeurys Familia

Jeurys Familia’s march to the Mets Hall of Fame is back on an uphill climb. Two of his last three seasons with the Mets have been sub-par and needs a good 2020 to get his case back on track. Familia has 123 saves with the Mets, 51 of them coming in his Mets record-setting season of 2016. The narrow-minded Mets fan will remember him for his two home runs against Alex Gordon and Conor Gillaspie. His legacy with the Mets features an All-Star selection, five postseason saves, and a 2.16 postseason ERA.

Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso could not have created a better beginning to his Mets career. His 53 home run season set the Mets rookie, franchise, and MLB rookie home run record. Alonso earned an All-Star selection and won the home run derby. It will be hard to repeat a 50 homer season, but there is no reason to think he cannot put up consistent 40+ home run seasons. He is the leader the Mets have searched for since David Wright’s career dwindled and is a fan favorite, just like the former captain.

Mets Players to Fans: We’ll be Ready for the Season

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There’s a lot of turmoil going on in Flushing these days with manager Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets ‘mutely’ parting ways over his involvement in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Beltran’s role in the scandal turned out to be more than originally suspected and there was no way he could take the reins of the Mets – or any team for that matter – with this stigma of cheating attached to his name.

The Mets will find a new manager soon and the players are vowing there will be no lapse in their day-to-day lives, which makes sense since Beltran hasn’t run spring training or managed a single game.

Pete Alonso, the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and Major League home run champion who has taken a leadership role on this club, assured fans that the Mets will be ready come the regular season.

Pitcher Marcus Stroman is another Mets player putting a positive spin on things. From WFAN:

Stroman responded to Alonso’s post with a similar sentiment, “I’m ready to rock my bro.” Stroman, earlier, took a moment to reflect on the latest developments, highlighted by the firing of Boston’s Alex Cora, Houston’s AJ Hinch and Beltran for their involvement in the scandal.

 

“This is crazy,” Stroman said. “Truly can’t believe all this s- coming out in baseball. Just going to sit back and see how it all plays out. I know my thoughts but those will stay internal. I’ve learned that “no comment” is the best option at times!”

Pitchers and catchers report on February 11 with the rest of the team coming in  on February 16. We’ll see then if they really are ready.

Mets’ legendary first baseman and television analyst Keith Hernandez believes the Mets will be just fine.

 

Analytics Reveal Mets Need to Improve Infield Defense in 2020

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Amed Rosario, New York Mets

The New York Mets won 86 games in 2019 and probably could have won a lot more if their bullpen wasn’t blown games left and right. Their offense pulled them out of a few jams, but what about their defense. Analytics show the Mets could use some improvement on defense, especially in the infield.

Some of it has to do with the revolving doors around second and third base, Pete Alonso still learning his way at first base and Amed Rosario just beginning to get comfortable at shortstop.

From Deesha Thosar of the NY Daily News:  

For the third straight year, the Mets finished bottom five in the league in Defensive Runs Saved (-93; 29th) and bottom 10 in Ultimate Zone Rating (-12.8; 24th) in 2019, per Fangraphs. The Amazin’s -93 DRS were second only to the Orioles’ -105. The Dodgers topped all of MLB with 136 DRS last season, an overwhelming turnaround from the 47 DRS they posted in 2018.

 

Los Angeles also shifted their defenders in 50.1% of all plate appearances in 2019, which led the league, per Baseball Savant. The Mets, on the other hand, only shifted in 14.1% of all plate appearances, which was tied for the second-lowest shift rate in MLB with the Indians. Only the Cubs (12.7%) shifted less.

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen has identified defense as one of the team’s key objectives this spring under new manager Carlos Beltran and his staff. The Mets’ starting pitchers specialize in ground balls and it would behoove them to have an defensive infield that can capitalize on that.

“Contact and ground-ball pitchers, in particular, will depend on solid infield defense behind them in order to be successful on the mound,” wrote Thosar. “Stroman ranked fourth among MLB starters in ground-ball rate (53.7%) in 2019, per Fangraphs. Syndergaard (48.0%), deGrom (44.4%) and Porcello (38.1%) were not far behind him.”

The Mets’ infield is basically comprised of the same players from last season: Alonso and Rosario are cemented in at first and short. Jeff McNeil will likely be moved around between the outfield and third base, flipping with J.D. Davis, while veteran Robinson Cano will be the starting second baseman. Expect another veteran, Jed Lowrie, to get some playing time all over the infield to spell these four. That makes for a lack of continuity and, truth be told, none are gold gloves to start with.

The Mets will have to work with what they have to improve their numbers on defense. Rosario appears to have had a breakthrough and Alonso has made great strides as well. But, again, a platoon at third base and Cano’s range issues at second are elements to be concerned with.

 

New York Mets: what will Pete Alonso do for an encore?

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The 2019 season was a fun one for two New York Mets’ players: Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso. The former showed that his 2018 breakthrough was no fluke. The later rose up to the big stage with a bang: a league-leading 53 home runs and the NL Rookie of the Year award.

In a team with Michael Conforto, Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith, Alonso was the top offensive threat. He and McNeil led the Mets with a 143 wRC+.

The question is: what will Alonso do for an encore? His sophomore season will be a crucial one for the Mets. They need him to replicate his production if they want to secure a ticket to the postseason.

The Mets’ offensive stalwart

Is Alonso capable of repeating his amazing rookie season? It is fair to say that he took advantage of the “juiced” ball, but so did the rest of the league. If there is any change in the ball for 2020, it will be reflected in his HR/FB rate and, indirectly, his home run total.

Considering that he put up a 143 wRC+ and a .260/.358/.583 line, he set a high bar. However, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to match or improve those numbers. He had a 184 wRC+ in 2016 as a first-year pro in A- ball, a 157 mark in 2017 in Class A+, and a fantastic 180 in Double-A in 2018. He has it in him. It is unlikely that he changes his approach, though.

It would be difficult to show more power than hitting 53 home runs, and because of that, any improvements he makes offensively would be on his batting average. He already has a healthy 10.4 BB%. From 2016 to 2018, he hit .321, .286, .311 and .314 in four different stops.

A 2018 67-game stint in Triple-A resulted in a slash line of .260/.355/.585, almost a copy of his .260/.358/.583 performance with the Mets. The most likely scenario, therefore, is that he has morphed into a .260 player with a +.320 ISO, a change from the .300 hitter with a ~.260 ISO he was until reaching Triple-A. And that is more than fine!

If he approaches .300, it would likely be because he sacrificed power in the process. The Mets would surely prefer the player he is today to the one he was in 2016-2018.

With a similar performance and a modest improvement on defense, Pete Alonso can surpass the 5 WAR mark in 2020. What will he do for an encore? The New York Mets can’t wait to find out.

New York Mets 1B Pete Alonso Wins 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Award

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New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was named the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday.

https://twitter.com/SNYtv/status/1194039748211478528

Alonso (5.0 WAR, 148 OPS+, .260 BA, 53 HR) was selected over Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka (5.6 WAR, 169 ERA+, 1.111 WHIP, led NL in HR/9) and shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. of the San Diego Padres (4.2 WAR, 152 OPS+, .317 BA, 22 HR, 16 SB).

He received 29 of the 30 first place votes.

Alonso, 24, set a Major League Baseball rookie record for home runs, swatting 53, breaking the mark of 52 set by the Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees back in 2017. Alonso’s 53 home runs shattered the National League record of 39, set by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alonso led all rookies in homers (53), RBI (120), extra-base hits (85), total bases (347), runs (102), walks (72), slugging (.586) and OPS (.945), tied for first in hits (154), second in multi-hit games (42), OBP (.359) and finished third in doubles (30). He is the first rookie in MLB history with 50 homers and 30 doubles.

He also won the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Cleveland in July.

Alonso tied for fifth among rookies in major league history with 85 extra-base hits. He set the Mets’ franchise record with 85 extra-base hits and recorded 153 hits in 2019, which is also a Mets rookie record.

The “Polar Bear” is the first rookie in modern baseball history to lead all of Major League Baseball in home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, two rookies since 1900 tied for the most home runs in a season: Tim Jordan for Brooklyn in 1906 (12 homers) and Mark McGwire with Oakland in 1987 (49).

Mets News: Alonso, deGrom named finalists for NL ROY, Cy Young

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The New York Mets normally don’t hear their players’ names called for the annual BBWAA awards handed out at the end of each season. Yesterday, the BBWAA announced the three finalists for their year end awards. Mets 1B Pete Alonso was named one of the three finalists for NL Rookie of the Year and Jacob deGrom is back in the hunt for another Cy Young Award.

2019 BBWAA Awards Finalists

AL MVP: Alex Bregman, HOU; Marcus Semien, OAK; Mike Trout, LAA
NL MVP: Cody Bellinger, LAD; Anthony Rendon, WSN; Christian Yelich, MIL

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, HOU; Charlie Morton, TBR; Justin Verlander, HOU
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, NYM; Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD; Max Scherzer, WSN

AL Rookie of the Year: Yordan Alvarez, HOU; Brandon Lowe, TBR; John Means, BAL
NL Rookie of the Year: Pete Alonso, NYM; Mike Soroka, ATL; Fernando Tatis Jr., SDP

AL Manager of the Year: Rocco Baldelli, MIN; Aaron Boone, NYY; Kevin Cash, TBR
NL Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell, MIL; Mike Shildt, STL; Brian Snitker, ATL

Both deGrom and Alonso are favored to take home their respective awards according to a late-season MLB poll.

From Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:

Alonso, an overwhelming favorite to be named NL Rookie of the Year after hitting a Major League rookie-record 53 home runs in his first season, joined Atlanta’s Mike Soroka and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. as finalists. The BBWAA will reveal the winner on Nov. 11, during a 6 p.m. ET show on MLB Network.

deGrom, who won the NL Cy Young Award last year, took a step closer to repeating when he joined a group of finalists that also includes Washington’s Max Scherzer and Los Angeles’ Hyun-Jin Ryu. Although deGrom didn’t quite match his 2018 Cy Young numbers, he finished 11-8 with a 2.43 ERA and a league-high 255 strikeouts in 204 innings. The winner will be announced on Nov. 13, also at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

deGrom would be taking home the seventh Cy Young Award in Mets history. The previous winners were: Tom Seaver in 1969, 1973 and 1975; Dwight Gooden (1985), R.A. Dickey (2012) and deGrom last season.

Alonso would be the Mets’ 6th NL Rookie of the Year joining Seaver (1967), Jon Matlack (1972), Darryl Strawberry (1983), Gooden (1984) and deGrom (2014).

 

New York Mets: How special was Pete Alonso’s rookie year? Pretty special

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The New York Mets almost didn’t take rookie first baseman Pete Alonso north with them after spring training in March. He was too green defensively, they said. He needed more seasoning in the minors.

Many thought after a monster spring training, Alonso was a lock to make the Mets’ 25-man roster. But there were other issues in bringing him up besides his suspect defense. The Mets didn’t want his MLB service clock ticking yet. If they kept him in the minors to start the season, they would gain an additional season of control on the back end.

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen, also in his first season with the Mets, decided to trust his best judgement and green lighted Alonso’s debut. The “Polar Bear” as Alonso would become to be known, hit .352 with four homers in the spring. He swatted his way to Flushing.

“When players perform and earn opportunities, we as an industry and certainly the New York Mets, will reward those players for those performances,” Van Wagenen said in March. “[Alonso] showed us and certainly showed his teammates he was one of those 25 guys. He earned it. …The guys that earned it are here, and I’m happy for them.”

Alonso ‘s defense at first base never became an issue. He made just 12 errors in 1,202 chances. His bat, on the other hand, terrorized pitchers across baseball.

In 2019, Alonso set the Mets single-season record for homers (53), total bases (347) and extra base-hits (85)…In addition, Alonso has set the franchise single season rookie records for RBI (120), runs (102) and hits (154). He also tied the club rookie record with 72 walks and tied for fourth among all Mets rookies with 30 doubles.

Alonso’s 53 home runs were the most by a rookie in MLB history, breaking Aaron Judge’s record of 52 in 2017.

No rookie in baseball’s “modern era” (1900) has finished a season as the majors’ outright leader in homers. Two rookies since 1900 tied for the most home runs in a season: Tim Jordan for Brooklyn in 1906 (12 homers) and Mark McGwire with Oakland in 1987 (49). Alonso also became the first Met to ever lead the league in HRs at the end of the season.

Alonso hit 27 home runs at Citi Field this year, the most home runs at home in team history, surpassing Darryl Strawberry, who hit 24 home runs at Shea Stadium in 1990. To show he wa son fluke, Alonso hit 26 HRs on the road…

The Polar Bear became the eighth player in franchise history with a 100+ run/100+ RBI season, only the 12th time in franchise history and the first since Davis Wright (115 R & 124 RBI) and Carlos Beltrán (112 R & 116 RBI) did so in 2008. Alonso is the first Mets rookie to record a 100+ run and 100+ RBI season.

He also won the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game, setting new record (23) for HRs in the final round.

Alonso’s 120 RBI tied him with Robin Ventura (120 RBI in 1999) for the third- most in team history. Only Mike Piazza (124 RBI in 1999) and David Wright (124 RBI in 2008) have driven in more runs in a single season.

The Mets got an instant shot in the arm from Alonso, an outgoing, fan-centric, media-friendly personality with a powerful bat to match.  His future – and that of the Mets’ – appears to be on the upswing. The Mets were in dire need of a home-grown star and Alonso is shining as bright as any right right now.

New York Mets: Pete Alonso Year in Review

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The New York Mets star first baseman put together one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time. Pete Alonso was incredible from start to finish and gave the Mets their future captain for years to come.

Alonso stamped his name on baseball history multiple times this season. He moved his way up the single season rookie home run records to eventually finish with 53 home runs which was the most ever by a rookie and led the MLB. To go along with the homers, he hit .260 with a .583 slugging percentage, 30 doubles, 72 walks and 120 runs batted in.

Alonso hit a wall in July as he hit .177, but hit .264 for the last two months of the season. At times, Alonso chased outside of the zone because he was tired of being pitched around. Towards the end of the season, his strikeouts increased and his walks decreased. As he gets adjusted to the league more, he should be able to push 100 walks in a season.

Defense? No Problem!

One of the major questions surrounding Alonso was his ability to play first base. From what the scouts said, many would think Alonso could not field to save his life. Since the start of the season, his defense has gradually improved to a point where he is fully capable of being an everyday first baseman.

Alonso had a .990 fielding percentage and the sabermetrics rated him as an average fielder. He spent plenty of time throughout the year becoming a capable defender. The only criticism on his defense was that he was too aggressive, but the Mets would rather have that than Alonso being tentative.

The New Captain?

From the beginning, it seems like Alonso understood what it took to be a leader. From supporting first responders to facing the media everyday the same way David Wright did, the Mets embraced him as their leader. Alonso played in 161 games and wished he could be out there for the one game he missed. His character is something the Mets missed while Wright was on the shelf and Alonso took the reigns during his first year in Flushing.

Alonso is a lock for the Rookie of the Year award and will even receive some MVP and Silver Slugger votes. He will headline the young Mets for the next few years and bring relevance back to Citi Field.

Grades:

Contact: C, once he improves his strikeout rate he can reach .280-.290 with his average.

Power: A+, unmatched and led the MLB in homers.

Defense: B, one of the hardest working guys in the organization.

Speed/Baserunning: C-, only 1 stolen base, but a good baserunner with surprising speed.

Overall: A+, the Mets could not have asked for a better season.

 

New York Mets: Pete Alonso Gives Custom Gear to 9/11 Memorial

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Pete Alonso simply has what it takes to be a leader and a captain. Despite growing up outside of New York for a majority of his life, the Mets first baseman quickly understood the impact of the attacks. He even ordered custom cleats for him and his teammates to commemorate those affected by the attacks and on Tuesday, he donated them to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Alonso remembered being pulled out of school during the attacks, but he was not old enough to truly realize the impact it had. When he went to Brooklyn to play for the Cyclones in 2016, he started to learn how deep of an impact it had on the city.

Man of the People

When the MLB continued to deny the Mets from wearing first responder hats on 9/11, Alonso knew he had to figure out a way they could show their support. The custom cleats with the colors of the American flag and first responder logos were on display during their 9/11 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Alonso was an All-Star, home run derby champion, owner of the rookie home run leader, but has been even bigger off the field. He has been proud of what he can do since he has a much larger platform to do good. When he won the home run derby, he donated $100,000 to charity, half of it went to Tunnel to Towers. It is a non-profit for families of NYC servicemen and women.

Alonso says he is never going to fully understand the impact, but all he wants to do is help. For the Mets they look like they have their leader and face of the franchise for the next decade.

New York Mets: Pete Alonso Sets the Record

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Pete Alonso finally did it. The Mets first baseman hit his 53rd home run to pass Aaron Judge and become the greatest rookie home run hitter of all time. It caps off an amazing season and gives the Mets something to look forward to as they move into 2020.

The home run was off Mike Foltynewicz and was typical of the year Alonso has put together. It was a long, booming home run to right center field and would have cleared the fences of the old Citi Field. Alonso gave it a little walk and a mini bat flip before soaking in the moment. He crossed home plate to pump up the fans and greet his teammates.

An Amazin Story

Heading into spring training, there plenty of concerns about Alonso. Many felt his glove still needed a lot of work and there was even consideration to keeping him in the minors to start the season. Alonso worked hard on his glove throughout the year and showed he is here to stay. His emotions of the entire season got to him when he went back out to his position after the home run.

In college, Alonso was told his dream was too unrealistic. Now he is living the dream and is the first Met and rookie to lead the MLB in home runs. Alonso is the superstar the Mets have been searching for since David Wright retired and potentially could be a captain next season. He gives Mets fans reasons to believe the Mets can make a legitimate postseason run in 2020.