Pete Alonso, the first baseman for the New York Mets, stated that he isn’t considering being the best position player in team history in a recent interview with SNY’s Anthony McCarron.
“I work hard and just want to be all I can be every single day,” Alonso said. “Wherever I am on lists or record books, it’s honestly really nice. It’s really cool. But the thing that I really care the most about is having a positive impact on my teammates and having a great relationship with the people who I see and work with every day.”
The news that Alonso won’t be getting a contract extension anytime soon and will instead hit free agency this fall hasn’t been kept a secret by Mets owner Steve Cohen. As recently as Monday, MLB writers projected that by late July, the 2024 Mets will be so uninterested in the postseason that they will deal the beloved “Polar Bear” to a team like the Chicago Cubs or Seattle Mariners before the summer trade deadline.
Alonso may be interested in playing for a prestigious team like the Cubs or New York Yankees, as was previously suggested.
Since making his MLB debut in 2019, Alonso has only appeared for the Mets. He has hit 192 home runs in his career as of the start of 2024. With 252 career home runs, Darryl Strawberry owns the team record. If Alonso wants to eclipse Strawberry’s total, he’ll probably need to pledge his future to his current job.
Even while Alonso might be proud of his record, it’s clear that he has greater goals in mind.
“People don’t just remember the individual performances,” Alonso explained. “They remember the team effort. They remember the experience of what it was like having those special star players and then also experiencing those awesome winning seasons.”
Alonso talked warmly of the 2022 Mets squad that finished with 101 wins but fell to the Atlanta Braves in the National League East division title before losing to the Padres in a wild-card playoff series. Although the 29-year-old is undoubtedly motivated to win, it’s doubtful that he, Cohen, and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns will reach an understanding before November.
Regarding his unclear future, Alonso stated, “All the other stuff will take care of itself, shake itself out in the offseason.”