Francisco Álvarez. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

After going nine games without a hit and going just 10-for-53 in the month of September, Francisco Álvarez broke out of his slump in a huge Saturday night performance. The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader. Of those 11 runs, Francisco Álvarez drove in six to lead the Mets to their doubleheader sweep.

Álvarez on the night was 2-for-3 with two home runs in back-to-back innings, including a grand slam in the third inning. He drove in six, had three runs scored, as well as a walk in the Mets’ night-cap win over the Phillies.

With his two home run, six-RBI night, Álvarez becomes the 13th player in MLB history younger than 22 to have two home runs and six RBIs in a game. He joins the following players on the illustrious list:

With his performance on Saturday, Álvarez is now slashing .211/.285/.439 with a .724 OPS. He has hit 12 doubles, 25 home runs, and has driven in 63 runs.

To add to the potential list of records, Álvarez currently has the second-most home runs in age-21 season or younger by a catcher. He sits one home run shy of Johnny Bench, who had 26 in 1969.

He also has the third-most home runs by a Met younger than 22 in franchise history sitting behind Darryl Strawberry, who had 26 before turning 22 and Ed Kranepool with 38.

Francisco Álvarez. Photo by Roberto Carlo

Álvarez spoke with the media on Saturday night and did the entire interview in English, another tough moment conquered by the rookie.

He of course was asked how it felt to hit a grand slam in the big leagues. His response, “It felt great.” He added that at first he was unsure if it even was his first one and then a teammate told him in the dugout after hitting it.

Overall, on how his 2023 rookie season has gone, Álvarez wasn’t 100 percent satisfied. “I think I can do better than that,” he responded.

“I want to do better with my batting average, I want to do better with my OPS, I want to take more walks, I want to have more RBI, I want to do better with my defense, I want to have better communication with the pitchers, everything,” said the rookie.

José Quintana also spoke on Alvarez’s performance on Saturday night.

“I think this kid is really special. I think he has a lot of skills and he cares. He wants to learn every single day,” said Quintana. “He wants to know all the stuff, how he can help us (the pitchers), and he can hit… He has power, and he is learning,” He also elaborated on how quickly Álvarez has learned at this level, calling it “impressive” how quickly he has caught on at the big league level.

So far so good the early returns are for the young back stop. There certainly has been hiccups along the way, but overall, his rookie season has been impressive.