QUEENS, NY — Following the winter of discontent between the Mets and Scott Boras, Pete Alonso is putting all the uncertainty that once surrounded his future in Queens behind him with an otherworldly start to the 2025 season.
In his first 22 games since signing a two-year, $54 million deal that includes an opt-out this winter, the slugging first baseman is batting .346 with a league-leading .718 slugging percentage, 1.171 OPS, and 24 RBI to go with six home runs.
His strikeout rate is nearly half of what it was last year (12.6% compared to 24.7% in 2024). His hard-hit rate of 59.7% after never ticking over 46.4% in his previous six seasons. His walk rate is at 14.7% after never hitting 11%.
His percentile rankings amongst all MLB hitters, courtesy of Baseball Savant, are not black and white. They are simply red all over:
“What Pete’s doing is as good a start as you can envision for I think any human,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “This is pretty impressive. He’s locked in. His zone control is incredible right now. He’s hitting everything hard. I’ve been enormously impressed.”
As has been highlighted earlier this month, a more patient Alonso is maximizing the damage done hitting behind Juan Soto. The 31-year-old first baseman has been as patient as ever this season, seeing roughly 4.5 pitches per plate appearance, which ranks fifth in all of baseball.
“He’s locked in. He’s got conviction, he’s got a plan, and he’s executing it,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I don’t think we saw this version last year — maybe toward the end and definitely in the playoffs, but I think right now, he’s got conviction. He’s dictating at-bats, he’s ready for his pitches. He’s not missing them, and he’s taking his walks when they don’t want to pitch to him. He’s a dangerous hitter.”
The paces are likely unsustainable, unless this is one of the greatest offensive seasons in National League history. Alonso’s 162-game rate has him at 44 home runs and 176 RBI.
While prognostications mean nothing to him, Alonso did admit that this is the best he has felt at the plate in his entire career, even better than the 2019 season in which he set an MLB rookie record with 53 home runs.
“From a consistency aspect, yes,” Alonso said. “I mean, I know in 2019 I hit a lot of homers. Obviously, I had a phenomenal year that year. But from a consistency aspect and controlling the zone, I definitely feel better [this year].”
