PHILADELPHIA — Pete Alonso regularly deflects questions, insisting he's focused on the little things, not the big things.
He says he's focused on the next pitch or the next play, not the next offseason.
Many people around him will admit that such myopia is ideal, but quite impossible.
“The business side will take care of itself and there's no doubt in my mind that it affected him this year,” co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said Thursday of Alonso's career. He spoke about the biggest change of all. “I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t care what he says. It has to be that way — he’s human.
“You want to do it and have a great year for yourself and the city, but sometimes there's too much you want to do. But he did it.”
Alonso, at a critical time in his life, endured what would have been a solid season for others, but a below-average year for him, and was poised to become a free agent after the season.
Even if he carried that weight through a season in which he appeared in all 162 games and hit .240 with a .788 OPS and 34 home runs, he didn't acknowledge it.
His platform season didn't catapult him into another tier of MLB cash cows like Aaron Judge's 2022 season did.
At least Alonso hasn't made that leap yet.
Alonso struggled throughout the season, especially in clutch situations, hitting .232 with runners in scoring position, but primarily in late innings and close games, defined as after the seventh inning when the batter's team leads by three runs. ”, his OPS remained at .525. The score is tied or the lead is 1 point.
Although he didn't have enough big hits, he was granted release at the greatest moment of his career.
Alonso's three-run homer with one out in the ninth inning against Milwaukee effectively ended the Mets' vacation plans and ensured they would be at Citizens Bank Park for Saturday's National League opener. It may have been the biggest swing in Mets history, and it certainly was in Alonso's history.
The home run earns Alonso another series in a Mets uniform, at least one more home game at Citi Field, and a chance to earn an eye-watering salary on the open market. Obtained.
“At the end of the day, if Pete accomplishes this in the postseason, he's going to get paid,” Francisco Lindor said in the celebratory clubhouse.
Alonso had his chance on Thursday and now has another chance.
He's a strong and capable bat, but he didn't declare himself a must-have bat during a subpar regular season.
What would happen if they did the same thing again in the NLDS after taking on the Mets once?
NLCS?
World Series?
“He knows he's one of the best hitters on the planet,” Chavez said. “[This regular season was] Nothing is ideal for him either, but everything is going to change for him going forward.
“Hopefully he closes the door on all this. Who cares what happened this year? It's just a matter of what he does in the next couple of weeks at bat.”
