Their status as the first two players to hit 50 homers as rookies will ensure there’s always a link between Aaron Judge, who blasted 52 homers in 2017, and Pete Alonso, who went one better two years later.
Another link could be created this season as Judge and Alonso try to become the first Yankees-Mets duo to lead their respective leagues in a Triple Crown batting category in the same season. Judge snapped a tie with Alonso atop the big league RBI leaderboard last night, when he collected his 103rd RBI by hitting a solo homer — his major league-leading 47th — in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Mets.
But their other tangible connection — a geographical link as the faces and embodiment of their New York franchises — might only last through the end of this season, with tonight’s regular season Subway Series finale at Yankee Stadium potentially the last time they’ll take the field against each other as Big Apple rivals.
Judge is putting together a no-doubt MVP season — he’s a -550 favorite at DraftKings today, far ahead of two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani (+400) — and making a run at 60 homers in his walk year after negotiations on a long-term contract fizzled in the spring. He made it clear he was unhappy when Yankees general manager Brian Cashman publicized the Yankees’ final offer (seven years for $213.5 million) as well as when he and the Yankees barely avoided an in-season arbitration hearing in late June.
“You wonder when you’re going through it, why” it took so long to meet in the middle, Judge said. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t feel the need. It’s a business…I’m just thankful to get past this and get it done and go back to focusing on winning some games here.” https://t.co/YT0nBtTZ7z
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) June 25, 2022
While Alonso isn’t due to hit free agency until after the 2024 season, he’s no stranger to the business side of the game. He acknowledged he was a bit hurt following the 2018 season, when the Mets didn’t recall him for a late-season audition after he was named the organization’s minor league player of the year.
He had his contract automatically renewed prior to the 2021 season, the final season before he became eligible for arbitration. And the impending showdown between the Mets and Jacob deGrom may provide the proof that even billionaire new owner Steve Cohen might not be able to re-sign every Mets player.
“Between the lines, I’m just focused on playing the game,” Alonso said before grinning. “All the business stuff, we’ve got agents and stuff to take care of that stuff.”
Thus there are at least two more seasons in which Alonso can continue his climb up the Mets’ record book while serving as a unique representative of the team and its fanbase.
Alonso, who has the fifth-best NL MVP odds at DraftKings as of this morning, already ranks sixth on the Mets’ all-time home run list with 136 despite playing just 493 games. Lucas Duda, the player whom Alonso most recently surpassed, hit 125 homers in 760 games with the team.
He ranks third in slugging percentage at .535, two spots behind Hall of Famer Mike Piazza (.542) and two spots ahead of Darryl Strawberry (.520), the club’s all-time home run leader with 252 and the most prolific power hitter drafted and developed by the Mets.
Man on a mission. 💪#LGM | #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/bySb1tJvm6
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 19, 2022
Alonso has produced those stats while displaying an enthusiasm and a desire to celebrate the the little victories that resonate with fans rooting for a franchise hasn’t won a World Series in 36 years — a span in which the Yankees have won it all five times while carrying a wearied, championship-or-bust mentality mirrored by their fans.
Alonso approaches the Home Run Derby, which he won in 2019 and 2021 before falling in the semifinals this season, with an uncommon seriousness. And while no one’s had their shirt ripped off by Alonso in the midst of a walk-off celebration this season, a la 2019, he still ends most postgame interviews with “LFGM,” the modern and possibly R-rated updating of the Let’s Go Mets slogan/hashtag he unveiled as a rookie.
“I talked to Mike Piazza, I talked to John Franco, Tim Teufel and even a little bit later I talked to David (Wright) a little bit,” Alonso said, referring to popular Mets alums before referencing perhaps the most popular one of all — Wright, who was on a Hall of Fame track before injuries forced him to retire following the 2018 season. “I think the biggest thing, that overarching theme for those guys, is hey, be yourself. Authenticity’s key. If you’re yourself and not trying to be anything else — Mets fans, they really embrace and welcome you just for being yourself.”
This season, Alonso authored two amusing instant GIFs while celebrating replay reviews that went the Mets’ way, first to overturn a run in the 10th inning against the San Francisco Giants on Apr. 19
Pete is HYPE pic.twitter.com/sKgAMPeAJc
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 19, 2022
(“That was big for us at that moment, I think Francisco ended up walking it off the day,” Alonso said, correctly recalling Francisco Lindor delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom half) and then the upholding of the run he scored in a close play at the plate against former teammate Travis d’Arnaud and the Atlanta Braves on Aug 6.
“I just want to win,” Alonso said. “And that’s it for me. I just want to win.”
Ten miles from Citi Field stands Judge and plenty of other evidence that striking such a delicate balance — harboring high expectations yet still able to enjoy the winding path of every season as Alonso has done since reaching the majors— isn’t always possible.
“It’s just having the opportunity to make the club (for) Opening Day — I was just really appreciative and I didn’t want to go back down,” Alonso said of his 2019 season. “So I wanted to make the most of the opportunity, Nothing’s really guaranteed and I wanted to make sure that I put myself in position that I could stay.”
