When Pete Alonso strolled up to the plate at the top of the sixth inning, the Mets offense had been stagnant all day and was in desperate need of an energy boost. Jeff McNeil‘s first-inning home run accounted for all of the offensive production on the day and the Mets trailed 3-1.
On the second pitch of Alonso’s at-bat, he hit a towering fly ball down the left field line that hooked foul. Three pitches later, Alonso hit a 448-foot moonshot to left field, cutting the Mets deficit to just one run.
The home run was the 49th of the season for Alonso, tying him with Mark McGwire for the second-most homers ever hit by a rookie. It was also the 225th home run of the season for the New York Mets, which set a new single-season franchise record for the club.
In the process of hitting the record-setting blast, Alonso also set a new record for most hits ever by a rookie, exceeding Ty Wigginton‘s mark of 146 set in 2003. The home run was Alonso’s 80th extra-base hit of the season, tying a single-season franchise record held by Carlos Beltran (2006) and Howard Johnson (1989).
There are still a few more records that Alonso can break before the season is done, namely Aaron Judge‘s rookie home run record of 52 set in 2017. Yet the only record that Alonso cares about is his team’s, as he tries to lead them on an improbable run into the playoffs.
