By Michelle Ioannou
There was uncertainty during the offseason as to whether Pete Alonso would make the Opening Day roster or not. He was a non-roster invitee to spring training. We did not have confirmation that Alonso would be on the roster until the day before Opening Day.
Well, he made it, and boy are the Mets and fans glad that he did. Alonso came to the Mets right in the nick of time.
No, the 2019 Mets did not make it to the postseason. But watching Alonso play this season was a saving grace for fans everywhere.
Fans had been following Alonso in the minors. We had been hearing great things about him. Many of us were calling for him to have come up earlier. But seeing him play in the majors was much more than we could have imagined.
He won the Home Run Derby. He broke the rookie home run record. He finished the season leading the league in home runs — the first rookie and the first Met to do so. He led all rookies in hits, runs, RBI, home runs, total bases, games played, OPS, slugging, and extra-base hits.
Did you expect that from him? I didn’t. I was pleasantly surprised. This is exactly what the Mets, and Mets fans, needed.
Coming off the heels of losing our Captain and our homegrown, beloved David Wright, this season was bittersweet from the beginning. It was the first season in 15 years that No. 5 wasn’t on the field. It was weird. In fact, it felt wrong.
Now I am not going to sit here and compare Alonso to Wright for you — Mickey Callaway has already done that. But this rookie coming in, the season right after Mets fans lose Wright, is something pretty remarkable. It was a refreshing reminder that there are young players who can strongly contribute to this team, both on and off the field. It showed us that this team still has the talent to win and the drive continue to get better.
I was thirteen years old when Wright made his major league debut. I felt as though I grew with him. He set an amazing example, on and off the field, for young fans to follow. When he retired, I couldn’t help but think who the next generation of Mets fans would have to look up to in this same way. That question was quickly answered just by seeing Alonso play and by hearing him speak.
In addition to this, Alonso gave both the team and fans the extra pump-up needed. The Mets have not been in a postseason since 2016. They also had not finished the season above .500 since that same year. This season was not looking much different. But then we saw what Alonso is capable of. We saw him motivate this team, both with the swing of this bat and with his LFGM rallying cry. We saw the Mets come back and play a strong second half, almost making a playoff push. They unfortunately fell sort, but they did finish the season above .500 for the first time in three years.
Alonso came to this team just in the nick of time. He came in ready to play. He came in ready to contribute to his team — from providing his pitchers with run support to supporting fellow first baseman Dominic Smith whenever he was out there playing instead of him. That alone perfectly portrays Alonso’s fantastic character and the phenomenal attitude that he brings to this clubhouse.
It’s going to be an exciting ride for years to come to see Alonso evolve as a player and as a leader. He is what the Mets needed.
