Pete Alonso is Just Getting Started

It’s been a historic start to the season for the New York Mets, and after trouncing the Washington Nationals 10-0 on Tuesday night, they extended their NL East division lead to a league-high 11 games.

The Mets finished the month of May with a record of 19-10 (.655), tied for the second most wins in franchise history, and they also scored 168 runs in May, tied for the second most runs scored in a single month in franchise history.

Fueling their incredible offensive explosion last month, has been a team-wide effort led by the likes of Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte. But topping them all last month was a record-breaking performance by first baseman Pete Alonso.

Alonso, 27, had himself a month of May for the ages, batting .315 with a .398 on-base, a whopping .611 slugging percentage, and a 175 wRC+.

Along with his five doubles and nine home runs, Alonso also drove in 30 runs, setting a new franchise record for the month of May.

Not since Carlos Beltrán in July of 2006, has any Met posted an OPS over 1.000 and drove in 30 or more runs in a single month, but Alonso did so with ease.

For the season, the hulking first baseman is currently batting a career-high .286 with a .363 on-base — also a career-high — and a .894 OPS.

Alonso’s 47 RBI leads the National League and ranks second in the majors behind Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez who has 51.

What makes Alonso even more dangerous than in previous seasons has been his ability to spray the ball to all fields and not swinging wildly for the fences on every pitch. He has rapidly matured as a hitter and it’s scary to think that he’s only in his pre-prime season at age 27.

While Pete has always been well known for his hard-hit percentage and living in the outer limits of exit velocity, he’s now barreling the ball with more frequency, making him one of the most feared sluggers in the game.

That has already resulted in an MLB-leading six intentional walks, matching his total from all of 2021 as well as his rookie season in 2019.

Alonso has been even better when he comes to the plate with runners in scoring position, going 15-47 (.319/.456/.787) with a double, seven homers, 35 RBI and 14 walks. His 1.243 OPS with RISP ranks second in the major leagues.

With the New York Mets literally bulldozing their way through the division and forging ahead to a potential postseason, you can point to several players who have risen to the occasion this season.

But only one of them has proven to be a true catalyst. He’s been a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse. He strikes fear in opposing pitchers and makes them pay for their mistakes. And he’s an all-around nice guy and a class act. No, it’s not David Wright…  It’s Pete Alonso.