It’s not every day a rookie hits 50 home runs. But it does seem like it’s every day that Mets first baseman Pete Alonso mashes a dinger, so here we are. Alonso hit his 50th home run Friday night in Cincinnati against the Reds.
He now stands just two homers shy of Aaron Judge’s rookie record of 52. Judge set the mark for the New York Yankees in 2017.
“That’s just mind-boggling to me,” Alonso said in a TV interview with SNY. “I’m a huge baseball fan. I’ve always been a baseball fan my entire life, and there’s so many great players who played this game. It’s just nuts — it’s just nuts to think about.”
Pete Alonso CRUSHED this one for his 50th home run of the year 😱
Incredible rookie season.
(via @Mets)pic.twitter.com/Zu8EY9Ztro
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 21, 2019
An impressive blast
Appropriately, Alonso’s milestone home run was magnificent. He took a pitch off the outside corner from Reds starter Luis Castillo and hammered it the opposite way. It sailed over the right-center field wall, flying 437 feet.
Alonso has made a habit of Ruthian blasts this year, with seven going at least 450 feet. That leads all Major League hitters.
Oh, so does 50 home runs. Remember the great home run race of 2019? Alonso has made it his own. He leads the Reds’ Eugenio Suarez by two and the other leading contenders by at least five homers each.
Pete Alonso is the first player to hit 50 home runs in a season since Giancarlo Stanton (59) and Aaron Judge (52) in 2017.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 21, 2019
How far can he go?
The Mets have nine games left, so Alonso will have plenty of chances to catch Judge’s rookie record and stretch it well into the 50s. And remember, the already-beloved Polar Bear is just 24.
In a year in which the Mets made a big splash by trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, and on a team that has long relied on excellent starting pitching, it’s Alonso who has carried New York.
The Mets are still on the periphery of the NL wild-card race, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 3.5 games for the final playoff spot. A few more Alonso long balls, a hot streak to end the season and they might yet see what their rookie sensation can do in October, too.
50 homers for Pete Alonso ❄ 🐻
He’s the 2nd rookie in MLB history to reach 50 HR in a season 😤 pic.twitter.com/HeMAJ0R4qD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 21, 2019
