By: John Jastremski
It’s amazing to see how a player’s narrative can evolve in a city and within a fan base.
If you go back to Pete Alonso’s rookie year in 2019, he won over the city and the Mets fans with relative ease.
From day one in the big leagues, Alonso has been a bonafide slugging machine.
He set a rookie home run record, won a couple of Home Run Derby’s and seemed destined to be a Met for life.
However, if you turn back the clock to last September or even this past winter, there were a couple of moments where it was easy to imagine the divorce between the Mets and Pete Alonso.
Last September, it was performance related. Pete Alonso was not playing up to his usual standard in a contract year.
Maybe he was pressing, maybe it was just a down season, but the final month of the year in a very intense playoff race, it felt like Alonso was playing his last few games as a Met.
Despite the incredible contributions that Pete Alonso made to the Mets over the years, I think a good chunk of Mets fans would have been OK saying goodbye in the offseason until a certain swing of the bat in Milwaukee changed the fortunes of the Mets and Alonso’s season.
Pete Alonso’s underwhelming 2024 regular season was all forgotten after hitting one of the most dramatic home runs in Met history against Devin Williams.
After a home run like that, a moment like that, how could you let Alonso go?
Well, the winter time put that narrative to the test.
The Mets signed Juan Soto from the Yankees and did not exactly prioritize Pete’s return.
The month of January rolled on, Pete Alonso remained unsigned and it felt like the interest was not necessarily there in Mets land.
Steve Cohen and specifically Mets GM David Stearns faced a lot of backlash from angry Mets fans at the team’s fan fest in January regarding the negotiations and lack of progress.
The week of the Super Bowl, the Mets fans got the result they desired. Alonso back in Queens, but on a short term deal.
Well, after the whirlwind of 2024, it’s fair to acknowledge the Mets should thank their lucky stars that Pete ended up back with the team.
Alonso has been an incredible offensive force and is arguably having the best start to a season he has ever had.
This is a player who is going to be negotiating from a position of strength at the end of this offseason, but it’s obvious the Alonso/Mets partnership is a must.
The Mets need his power in the middle of the order.
Alonso is on his way to becoming the franchise’s all time home run leader and if he stays long term, imagine this; Pete Alonso has a chance to become the best Mets home grown position player ever.
Darryl Strawberry and David Wright hold that mantle for now, but neither featured the necessary longevity.
Strawberry due to his departure and issues off the field. David Wright’s back and body got the best of him.
Alonso’s power should age decently in the next few years and this should be a no-brainer for the Mets down the road.
Make Pete Alonso a Met for life.
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY.
