Pete Alonso confident this won’t be his final Mets homestand
Knowing Francisco Lindor would be missing for, at minimum, a few days due to a back ailment, David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza called an impromptu team meeting before Monday night’s series opener against Washington.
The leadership felt a gathering necessary to discuss the absence of the Mets’ most vital player at this most critical juncture.
And three people wound up speaking:.?
The president of baseball operations.
The manager.
And Pete Alonso.
A few in attendance cited Alonso’s passion. In the meeting, Alonso referenced that in his time with the Mets they were kind of in the race in 2019, but not really. They blew a late division lead in 2022, but didn’t know their full fate until the last game of the season and so never celebrated — then were quickly knocked out of the playoffs by the Padres. Beyond that, the Mets hadn’t sniffed the playoffs in Alonso’s other seasons.
So, speaking for the veteran players and staff who have been around, Alonso accentuated that he wants to celebrate, in his words, “with the boys.” Thus, it was imperative the team lock in the rest of the way and get into the postseason.
It was a stirring start to what could potentially be his final homestand as a Met, since Alonso is a free agent after this season.
So it began with the Mets knowing where their slugging first baseman’s heart was. But they really needed his bat, too — never more so than with Lindor out of the lineup.
On Monday there were words. On Tuesday came deeds. Alonso had driven in just five runs in his first 14 September games before driving in five — via a two-run single and a three-run homer — in what became a 10-1 rout of the Nationals that moved the Mets two games ahead of the Braves for the final NL wild card and pulled even with the Diamondbacks, with the Mets holding the tiebreaker, for the second wild-card spot.
Prior to the Mets (83-68) tying their high-water mark at 15 games over .500, while discussing both getting into the playoffs and his future, Alonso had said he had “a gut feeling” it will all work out positively. When asked to clarify if he meant the Mets getting into the playoffs or him staying long-term with the franchise, Alonso smiled and said, “Both.” It is not, he said, because there have been any covert negotiations on an extension. Simply, he said, what he wants to believe — “I love it here. It’s a really special place.”
And also because, he explained, he fully expects to play in October at Citi Field.
Alonso is as important to make that happen as any Met.
Alonso had 32 homers and a .795 OPS to begin Tuesday — fine stats for others, but for him his lowest career OPS, homer percentage and also batting average with runners in scoring position (.225). Big hits have been too infrequent for Alonso — an absence that has not made Mets fans’ hearts grow fonder for him.
Meanwhile, the Mets have many hitters slumping, notably J.D. Martinez, Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos. And Lindor is out with what the team said is no structural damage, but also no clear date for a return of the Mets’ best player — he said after Tuesday’s game that nothing had changed in 24 hours and he was unsure when he might play next. So it is possible that Lindor will be down for not just a few days.
That leaves Alonso as the most qualified healthy hitter to change a game down the stretch. He helped do that Tuesday.
A signature moment or two for Alonso in the coming days would only refuel the love affair with the Flushing fan base. Steve Cohen and Stearns do not seem like the types to get overly emotional in negotiations — particularly Stearns. But Cohen has made clear how much he values honoring and creating Mets history — and Alonso is an important part of that. And can make himself even more instrumental over the next 10 days.
Still, Alonso insisted that he is not allowing himself to get wrapped up in either free agency or that this could be his final Citi Field home games. Nor that — more than ever — he needs to be The Man with Lindor out. He stressed that he “feels the responsibility” daily regardless of who is in the lineup or what kind of season he is having or what awaits afterward.
“Yeah, this year necessarily isn’t my standard,” Alonso said. “But, for me, we still have 12 games left and the biggest thing I want to do is win and I want to contribute to a winning culture — and this group is fantastic. Whatever happens in free agency happens. I’m not really too concerned about that.”
Alonso emphasized how much he cared about the culture and the group in a clubhouse meeting Monday — “I wanted to say something from the heart to the fellas,” Alonso explained. But the Mets aren’t going to put their money where his mouth is — they are going to need his bat to speak louder than it has all season. They are going to need more games like Tuesday.
