QUEENS, NY — When Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza called a team meeting on Monday to discuss the road ahead with their most valuable player, Francisco Lindor, out with a lower-back issue, slugging first baseman Pete Alonso felt compelled to address the room — the only player to do so during that gathering.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, a passionate Alonso spoke about his six years with the team, how he has never truly celebrated a playoff berth after the Mets lost the NL East on the final day of the 2022 season, and the opportunity that lay before them.
“I just wanted to say some things from the heart because this place is really special, and it’s a great fan base here and a great city,” Alonso said. “I’m just really fired up because of the situation we put ourselves in. Not a lot of people would necessarily see us in this position four or five months ago. A lot of people didn’t. For us to be in this position, it’s a huge testament to every single one of these players and the coaching staff, and the organization. We’ve had that inner self-belief.”
The situation the Mets find themselves in prior to Wednesday night’s series finale against the Washington Nationals is walking the proverbial tightrope. Following a 10-1 victory on Tuesday night at Citi Field in which Alonso hit his 33rd home run of the season and drove in five RBI, the Mets moved into a tie for the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the National League with the Arizona Diamondbacks (New York owns the tiebreaker) and two games clear of the Atlanta Braves, who are now on the outside of the Wild Card picture looking in.
“It was good for him to say what he needed to say the other day,” Mendoza said. “To go out and back it up is good.”
Lindor maintains that he is day-to-day after missing his first game of the season on Saturday, a failed one-inning comeback on Sunday, and rest ever since. It is a massive absence for a team looking to make the postseason for the second time in three seasons — and complete an improbable turnaround that saw them sitting 11 games under .500 on June 2.
For the Mets to stay afloat, the big names need to step up, which has not necessarily been the case of late.
Brandon Nimmo had been hitting .186 since July 12, JD Martinez was 0-for-his-last-24, and Mark Vientos was batting .079 in his last 10 games. As for Alonso, normally the most imposing bat in the Mets’ lineup, consistency has usually been out of reach.
Unless he goes on one heck of a heater down the stretch, this will be just the second 162-game season he has hit under 40 home runs with a career-worst .805 OPS.
“You look at his numbers, and yeah, everyone is used to the 40 homers. But he has an .800 OPS, he’s going to get almost 100 RBI and 30-something homers,” Mendoza said. “That’s a pretty good season. Hopefully, he gets hot here and carries this team for quite a bit because we’re going to need him.”
Tuesday night’s five-RBI performance certainly was a step in the right direction. Over his first 14 games of September, Alonso had just two home runs and five RBI.
If he can get hot in what would be a perfect time for the Mets, not only would he help see his team across the regular-season finish line and into the postseason, but it could certainly change the conversation surrounding his future with the organization. The 30-year-old is a free agent this winter, and his days with the club — at least from the outside — are murky.
“We’ve been saying that guys will have to step up when Lindor is down, and Pete is one of those guys,” Mendoza said. “You guys have seen it before. I’ve seen it before where he can carry a team… Fortunately, especially in the next [10] games and hopefully, deep into October, he has a chance to continue to do something special.”
“Whenever it comes, it comes, and I want to play my best and contribute however I can…” Alonso said. “Whenever I get an opportunity, I’m going to give it hell, do my best to execute, and do what I can to win…
“We control our own destiny. That’s what we want to do. We want to win as many ball games as we can.”
