Hands down, Pete Alonso is the most prodigious home run hitter in the history of the New York Mets. Now, he officially owns a piece of the team’s home run record to back it up. In the second inning of the Mets’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Alonso had hit his franchise-record-tying 252nd career homer. That was a long ball that matched Darryl Strawberry for the most in franchise history.
Although, Alonso notched this feat over just 963 games, which happens to be 146 fewer than Strawberry’s. And all this while, Strawberry himself has been rooting for Alonso to break his record.
indraSee, when Alonso re-signed with the Mets last off-season, all collectively wondered when he would claim the top spot in the franchise’s home run rankings. And when he finally achieved the feat at American Family Field on Saturday night, the Metsies awaited his media appearance.
Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
However, Alonso had to depart early, and as per the club spokesman, he had a family thing that required his presence more. Still, the one who has always wanted Alonso to surpass his record had a beautiful message for him.
Strawberry had a 4-word message for Pete Alonso. “Congratulations, Pete. Let’s go ,” he sent in a text to the New York Post. His 252nd career homer was his 26th homer of the season and his 4th in just 8 games. As much as Pete’s moment is celebratory, it also brings a looming concern. Alonso can opt out of his current deal and test the free agency waters.
Yes, he did that last year, too. He was the talk of the town throughout the offseason. There was a dramatic and lengthy back-and-forth negotiation between the two parties. And finally, after it all, the New York Mets and Alonso agreed to a 2-year, $54 million deal back in February. One of the last things Metsies would want now is for the star slugger to leave Queens and head to free agency.
Former Mets GM reveals the best approach for the Pete Alonso contract dilemma.
Well, sure, the Mets fans have a lot on their plate right now. The club has lost five consecutive games, dropping nine of their past ten matchups. The Mets are now 63-54 after their 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, and 4 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East division.
However, it’s important to lay out Alonso’s situation. You see, he is currently producing one of the finest seasons of his career. He is likely to test the free agency, and with that being the case, Former Mets GM Zack Scott recently appeared on Sal Licata’s WFAN Radio Show. As he did, he explained how he would handle Alonso’s contract if he could.
“A front office perspective is always forward-looking. It’s always, ‘What are we buying? What kind of performance can we expect, reasonably, over the term of this contract we’re talking about?” he said when asked if he were David Stearns and had to handle Alonso’s negotiations.
He further added, “So [Alonso] is going to decline. It’s inevitable. We don’t always know when. There are some things you can learn from looking at players of his type… those guys might not age great, and that’s why you might be a little more cautious.” Scott believes that Stearns handled Alonso’s contract situation pretty well last year. However, if it were Scott’s decision, he wouldn’t invest in Alonso for the long term. He did not press much on the reasoning but said that Alonso is another year older and he won’t go too long for his contract.
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The post Darryl Strawberry Sends 4-Word Message to Pete Alonso After Historic Feat as Mets Face Huge Free Agency Dilemma appeared first on EssentiallySports.
