QUEENS — Pete Alonso might have been born 13 years after 38 Special’s hit was released, but he’s using the rock band’s words as gospel right now.
“You got to hold on loosely,” Alonso began. “If you hold on tight, you’ll lose control.”
The Mets slugger is trying to “Hold on Loosely,” emotionally amidst prolonged struggles — the worst of his career. Over his last 60 games dating back to May 1, he’s batting just .177. Since June 1 (32 games), it’s at a paltry .140.
“I haven’t played well at all. It’s not fun not playing well,” Alonso said following the Mets’ 6-2 loss on Thursday to the Chicago White Sox where he went 1-for-4 with an RBI single. “It’s just been tough. Nothing’s wrong mechanically. I changed some things about my approach… It’s just a matter of honing in on the approach and executing.”
It also appears that the more he cares, or perhaps presses, the worse it’s getting.
“Caring and wanting something is a double-edged sword where if you care too much, then that leads to mounting pressure,” Alonso said. “That’s not necessarily good.”
Those struggles at the plate bled into the field on Thursday when he booted a Luis Robert Jr. groundball to lead off the sixth inning. Alonso crouched behind the first-base bag with his head in his hands and kept it hanging as the White Sox proceeded to score four runs in the frame off reliever Drew Smith.
“We all know how much Pete wants things,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “He has put so much emphasis on trying to play perfect defense when he’s not hitting. He’s just trying to contribute and what happens is that you just get out of sync because mentally and emotionally, just wanting to do everything else other than hit perfect.
“It’s really painful to watch a guy, a great hitter like him, go through this.”
Showalter and the Mets, however, continue to trot him out every day in the No. 4 spot of the lineup — a showing of faith to suggest that he’ll be able to work his way through it and start referencing other 38 Special hits like “Same Old Feeling,” or “Back Where You Belong.” But the Mets need their slugger to get back to his early-season swing with their postseason hopes on the thinnest of ice.
“If I told you all the things, it’s not like we’re just sitting here and taking it whether it’s not taking batting practice, taking a lot of it,” Showalter said. “I could give you 10 other things that we’ve tried. We trust Pete. We trust his track record and for us to get o where we’d like to get, it’s going to include Pete doing what he can do.”
