Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Pete Alonso‘s power had become a common sight five months into a remarkable rookie year. But this swing and a drive to the opposite field in the fourth inning against Chicago Cubs starter Yu Darvish had special meaning. The 407-foot blast was his 42nd, breaking the Mets’ single-season home run mark once shared by Carlos Beltrán and Todd Hundley.
It’s hard to believe there was uncertainty on whether he’d make the Opening Day roster.
“As soon as ball came off bat, I knew right away,’’ Alonso said according to the New York Post. “I made such good contact. It was such an amazing feeling. It’s been a dream come true so far this year.”
As the ball cleared the right-center field wall and Alonso rounded the bases, music from “The Natural” played over the Citi Field speakers. Alonso recognized the loud ovation and came out of the dugout for a curtain call.
Hundley set the record in 1996 (while also establishing a new high for catchers) and Beltran matched him 10 years later. Alonso surpassed both in only 131 games and 473 at-bats. He also became the first rookie to set a team’s franchise home run record since Johnny Rizzo did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938.
As the Mets broke spring training, there was a possibility for him to start the season at Triple-A in an effort to preserve a year of service time. But the team decided otherwise. And Alonso made the most of it.
He then embarked on re-writing Mets history. Alonso had nine home runs through the end of April, 10 more in May, and nine for June. He overtook Darryl Strawberry for most home runs by a rookie, among the numerous other team records and accomplishments.
The Home Run Derby champ had more standards to set in 2019. He went on to break Aaron Judge‘s rookie record for home runs in a single season and to nobody’s surprise, was the runaway winner for 2019 NL Rookie of the Year.
