One of the biggest bright spots for the New York Mets through two weeks of Grapefruit League play has been first baseman Pete Alonso. The third year slugger has been locked-in at the plate, and has made some really nice adjustments thus far.
After his one hit, two RBI performance in Sunday afternoon’s 7-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Alonso is hitting a crisp .333 with a 1.223 OPS, .462 OBP, two home runs, and nine RBI’s over 21 spring training at-bats.
Following Thursday’s night’s 1-0 win over the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach, Alonso told reporters via Zoom that he feels he’s in a good flow right now, and he’s extremely satisfied with the early spring results.
“I feel like my progression is going really well right now. I’m extremely satisfied with how everything’s going, I just want to continue this good form,” he said. “I’m in a good flow of things right now, I just want to keep coming in and working diligently and sticking to my plan.”
Alonso has been visibly more patient at the plate, and putting his light-tower opposite field power on display in the early part of spring. Mets manager Luis Rojas has certainly taken notice of the young sluggers improved approach.
“He’s staying within himself and being consistent with his approach. He’s not trying to do too much and staying simple. That’s the Pete we know when he’s swinging a hot bat, he looks really good right now,” the second year skipper said.
Alonso is coming off a 2020 pandemic shortened season in which he hit .231 and posted a .817 OPS with 16 homers and 61 strikeouts over 57 games. Alonso said heading into a big 2021 season for both him and this team, he’s really just trying to stay focused on the goal.
“I’m just extremely motivated and extremely focused. This is going to be a big year for us. We have such a talented lineup with new additions, and with that there’s expectations to win. For me, I just want to be locked in and ready to go to help this team win,” Alonso said.
