PORT STREET LUCIE — Pete Alonso hit 46 home runs last season, his most since his historic rookie year, but he had plenty of room for improvement in other areas as well.
Most notably, the Mets first baseman hit a career-low .318 on-base percentage, a result largely of an anemic .217 batting average.
These are numbers that Alonso is aware of.
But as Alonso prepares for this season, he has vowed not to improve his numbers so much as a process that gives him a chance to get better results.
Last season, Alonso’s ball-in-play batting average (BAbip) was just .205, suggesting bad luck was a big factor in his low batting average.
“There’s a correlation between batting averages,” Alonso said. “Minimizing chases is definitely best. That gives you a chance to increase your batting average. Just swing in the zone and utilize pitches in the zone consistently.” In the zone If you’re consistently hitting the ball hard, that’s definitely a correlation.
“If you’re swinging something in your zone and making good swing decisions, it’s hitting hard forward. That doesn’t necessarily mean an outcome. In spring training, you hit a ball going 115 miles per hour. I was able to hit it, but what if it was a line drive towards someone? In the spring, I’m going to focus on hitting the ball hard if it’s in my zone and adjusting from there. is.”
Alonso’s 40.1 percent hit rate last season was the lowest of his career. He also swung 61.9 percent of his pitches inside the strike zone, a career low. However, Alonso’s pursuit rate of 27.4 percent was a career high.
Eric Chavez, who has returned to his role as hitting coach alongside Jeremy Burns, said if there’s a message he wants to send to Alonso this spring, it’s to focus on becoming a complete hitter.
Chavez saw the best in Alonso in that regard in 2022, with the first baseman hitting a career-high .271 with 40 home runs. Alonso’s on-base percentage of .352 that season was the second best of his career.
Alonso’s best all-around season was 2019, when he set MLB rookie records with 53 home runs and a batting average of .260/.358/.583.
Chavez was hired as the Mets’ hitting coach before the 2022 season, reminding Alonso that he’s more than just a traditional slugger.
“The first year I was here, we talked about, ‘I don’t want to be known as a home run hitter,'” said Chavez, who spent last season as the Mets’ bench coach. “And his at-bats were tougher.” “His pitch selection was better. He used everything, the whole field. We want to hit the ball hard, we want home runs, but we want them to be complete hitters. ”
Analyzing his at-bats last season, Alonso said he was satisfied with the damage he did with his fastballs, but said that pitching without speed was his weakness. Alonso hit just .119 against off-speed pitches last season, swinging and whiffing on 43.1 percent of his pitches.
“His fastball OPS was great, meaning he was making good swings on fastballs in the zone,” Alonso said. “I didn’t like where I was on the off-speed pitches, so I’m going to continue to try to take advantage of the pitches that are in the zone and take advantage of the pitches that are not in the zone.”
Chavez preaches situational strikes. This means understanding that one approach does not apply to all situations.
“With Pete, not swinging at any ballpark is going to be a big problem. [opponents] I don’t want Pete to beat them,” Chavez said. “He understands the situation and is focused on being a good all-around hitter, not just a home run hitter.”
Chavez suggested that Alonso’s contract situation – he was unable to agree to an extension last year and there was talk of a trade – may have distracted the player.
Alonso is almost certain to head to free agency after this season.
“He’s had a tough year with his contract situation and a lot has been talked about and written about,” Chavez said. “He went through it. I’m sure it was really hard for him. But he knows: Pay attention to what happens on the field. The rest will take care of itself. ”
