On Wednesday morning, the New York Mets announced that they had agreed to terms with all 21 of their pre-arbitration players that are currently on the 40-man roster.
One player that stands out above all the rest however is Pete Alonso, who is coming off a record-breaking Rookie of the Year campaign. For his elite production in 2019, Alonso has been given a record figure for a player coming of their first season.
According to Newsday’s Tim Healey, Alonso will now make $652,521 for the 2020 season. That figure represents a 17.5 percent raise from his $555,000 salary as a rookie.
As reported by Metsmerized’s own Jacob Resnick, Alonso has been rewarded for his breakout season and is thrilled with the raise he received.
“I just feel extremely honored to be a part of this organization,” Alonso said. “I can’t express my gratitude for this opportunity.”
In his first big league season, Alonso hit .260/.358/.583, with a rookie-record 53 home runs and 120 RBIs.
Alonso quickly became a fan-favorite with his moonshots and Polar Bear Pete persona. He also sparked a great second-half run by the Mets behind his now infamous LFGM movement.
Playing in front of the raucous crowd at Citi Field has become a passion for Alonso and one he hopes is not taken away at the start of this season.
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, public events are being shut down around the country, leaving some to wonder if baseball games will be played without fans at the start of the season. When asked about that prospect, Alonso spoke about that potential reality.
“Once you hear that crowd roar, you don’t want to play in front of anything else. It’s addicting…To not have that happen would be unfortunate…Having something as serious as coronavirus, you have to balance the risk vs. reward.”
Hopefully Major League Baseball does not have to make that decision and games can continue as scheduled with a full stadium of fans in attendance.
In the meantime, Alonso can celebrate receiving the record-setting figure for a first-year player that he absolutely deserves.
