New York Mets legend Darryl Strawberry routinely campaigned for the club to hold onto star first baseman Pete Alonso for as long as possible even though Alonso was on track to surpass Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time leader in career home runs.
Alonso will enter Opening Day just 26 homers shy of Strawberry’s 252 round-trippers. During a recent chat with Tim Healey of Newsday, Strawberry addressed what seems to be an inevitable event that will take place later this year.
“He’s going to break it,” Strawberry said about Alonso’s pursuit of the Mets’ all-time home run mark. “Records are meant to be broken. He’s a homegrown player — you root for him. You root for these guys. You don’t say, ‘Well, I don’t want this guy to break my record, I don’t want that guy.’ C’mon. That record has been up there for 35 years. It’s time to move on from me.”
In early February it seemed Strawberry’s record would be safe for the foreseeable future. Alonso was a free agent who reportedly wasn’t all that close to putting pen to paper on a deal with the Mets, but the situation took a turn after Mets owner Steve Cohen and team president of baseball operations David Stearns heard directly from paying customers who made it known during an event they wanted the “Polar Bear” back.
Those fans eventually got their wish, as Alonso ultimately received a two-year contract that included a player opt-out after this season from the Mets. Logic suggests he either will have already broken the record if he opts out or will stay with the Amazins for another campaign and get at least a final shot at overtaking Strawberry on the Mets’ home run list.
Alonso turned 30 years old this past December and is on 226 career homers. He recently shared he thinks he can reach 500 total home runs, in part because he’s confident he hasn’t yet produced his best offensive season.
“There’s plenty of guys who you see after they turn the corner of 30, they find another level, whether it be knowledge, maturity, knowing who they are. I want to be part of that,” Alonso told Healey.
If Alonso finds “another level,” he could prove to be an absolute steal for the Mets up through October 2025.
