New York Mets: Pete Alonso’s 2019 RoY campaign made home runs fun again

The New York Mets first baseman capped off an incredible first season in the big leagues, taking home the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year award on Monday.

In a season that saw the home run ball evolve from what was still a somewhat dramatic event into such a bountiful occurrence, causing grumblings from fans and folks within the industry, 24-year-old New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso somehow managed to preserve the dinger’sthrill while putting together a rookie year for the ages.

With the 2019 season ending with 15 different franchise home run records across the majors, Alonso’s special ability to hit the long ball may not be as impressive as it once was. But the man they call the Polar Bear seems to wield the ability to make home runs cool again.

Alonso’s incredible season started off with a bang, as he finished April already with 9 home runs and a 164 wRC+, the latter mark bested by only three players in the NL at that point.

On April 1, in a game already in hand against the Miami Marlins, Alonso’s first major league home run was a perfect symbol of what was to come for the next 6 months.

There would be many more home runs in that first half — 21 more to be exact, as Alonso headed to the 2019 All-Star break with a set of gaudy numbers that any rookie would be ecstatic to have produced in a full season: 89 G, .280 AVG, 30 HR, 68 RBI. Of those four stat categories, Alonso ranked within the top-three of the NL in all but one of them (AVG).

His place among the game’s most powerful hitters during those first few months earned Alonso an invite to the All-Star game as well as the 2019 Home Run Derby. Little did we know that Alonso’s season would perhaps be signified on that Monday night in early July (the night beforethis year’s Midsummer Classic).

With $1 million dollars at stake (Alonso earned a $555,000 salary in 2019), the stocky slugger belted 14 homers in the first round (defeating veteran Carlos Santana); 20 in the second round (besting projected future MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.); and 23 dingers in the final round (beating Vladimar Guerrero Jr. by one single long ball).

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Alonso’s derby victory made him just the third rookie to ever win the event, joining Aaron Judge (2017) and Wally Joyner (1986 co-champ) as triumphant big league newcomers.

As the old myth goes regarding second half performance after a HR Derby win, Alonso’s epic pace slowed in the beginning of the second half of the season as he finished up July with just a .177 AVG and a 7% drop in hard-hit rate.

But Alonso quickly bounced back in August and wound up finishing the season with a solid September and October, posting somewhat similar counting stats in the second half, despite a 4.2 increase in K rate: 71 G, .235 AVG, 23 HR, 52 RBI.

Overall 2019: 161 G, .260 AVG, 53 HR, 120 RBI

Somehow, even with the Mets operating at its usual underwhelming pace, Alonso remained atop the headlines with his superb rookie performance. A lovable personality and well-known for his loyalty towards fellow teammates, Alonso is hard not to root for.

In the end, Alonso landed 29 of the 30 first-place votes for the 2019 NL RoY award, becoming the fifth New York Mets player to win the award, and the first hitter since Darryl Strawberry in 1983.

With MLB’s alleged marketing problems and lack of a face of the game, Alonso seems like a perfect candidate in providing the sport with a recognizable character. Between his play on the field and his reputation off of it, there are definitely far worse players to take on that role.