The New York Mets floundered again on Friday, losing their sixth straight game as the bullpen’s immense struggles continued.
One bright spot, however, was that Pete Alonso continued his historic rookie reason with his 28th home run of the year, tying the record set by Mark McGwire in 1987 for home runs by a rookie before July 1.
McGwire, a first-round pick out of USC, struggled in a brief cup of coffee in 1986 for the Athletics before bursting onto the scene in 1987. He hit 49 homers in total that year, breaking the record for most home runs by a rookie in Major League history at that time. Aaron Judge broke this record with 52 home runs in 2017.
The National League record for most home runs by a rookie is held by Cody Bellinger and his 39 bombs, which also happened to be in 2017. If Alonso keeps this up, he should be able to break that record and more.
McGwire also set the rookie record that year for most homers before the All-Star break with 33. With seven games left to play before the All-Star break, he is unlikely to tie or break that unless he goes on a ridiculous tear in the next seven days. Nothing is impossible though considering just how impressive he has been this year.
Alonso, who will also be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby, should be exciting to watch in the second half, to see just how many homers he can end up smacking. While the team is in the middle of an ugly freefall, Alonso has been one of the few bright spots and a reason to keep watching the Mets every day.
