Mets: Pete Alonso versus Aaron Judge home run chase would be epic

A home run race between New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso and New York Yankees star Aaron Judge would make for a memorable MLB season.

At some point in their careers, Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge need to capture baseball fans everywhere with a home run race between the two. These titans of the Big Apple have the chance to replicate what Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did in 1998. Only this time it will be between two teams that share a city, the New York Mets and New York Yankees.

I don’t think I need to tell anyone how much sports hate there is between Mets and Yankees fans. It’s a tale as old as time. The Yankees have been around before sliced bread was even a thing and have gone through multiple dynasties.

The Mets, meanwhile, didn’t come into existence until 1962 after two other longtime New York teams fled to the West Coast.

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In those years, the two have battled for eyeballs in New York City. During the 1980s, the Mets seemed to capture the city. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s when things swayed back in favor of the Yankees.

I would be naïve to say things will change anytime soon. However, in a home run chase between Alonso and Judge, I’m not so sure it’s so easy for Yankees fans to claim an early victory. Sure, Judge is a great and powerful player. So is the Polar Bear.

The ESPN 30 for 30 which aired not too long ago about the great 1998 home run chase between McGwire and Sosa drew mixed reviews but did bring me back to my childhood. I’m quite partial to McGwire. I even got a dog in 1999 and named him McGwire.

While people all over the nation were glued to their televisions watching those two chase after Roger Maris in 1998, it’s time we get another pair of rivals to do the same. At the very least, it would be fun to watch Alonso and Judge go head-to-head for the MLB home crown even if it’s well short of any single-season record.

Alonso already broke Judge’s rookie home run record. It’s only a matter of time before Judge is out for blood—figuratively of course.

Since debuting in 2016, Judge has made his mark on baseball as a true and powerful home run hitter. He has averaged 45 home runs per every 162 games. The problem is he hasn’t gone more than 112 games other than in 2017 when he swatted 52.

Injuries have plagued Judge for the last two years limiting him to 112 games in 2018 and 102 in 2019. Alonso is already nearly halfway to tying him in career home runs. Because he also has only one season under his belt, he’s also hitting them at a higher average.

The sample size of both men is far too little to really boast about who the better home run hitter is. I don’t want to pose some kind of argument about it anyway. Instead, I would rather see the Alonso versus Judge summer of home runs play out over the course of a 162-game schedule.

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Before either leaves New York, fans need to be treated to a home run race between these two. And in case we need a good villain, Giancarlo Stanton can join in and hit more than both of them, leaving Yankees fans confused as to whether they should cheer or boo.