4) NY Mets top moment: Pete Alonso wins the Home Run Derby again
Will anyone ever defeat Pete Alonso at the Home Run Derby? Now a two-time winner in two consecutive derbies, it’s beginning to look like the self-proclaimed “best slugger in baseball” truly is.
Alonso did a lot of superb things for the Mets this year. He was easily their most consistent hitter and managed to stay relatively healthy outside of one short IL stint. At the plate, he was about as monstrous as we all expected.
Meanwhile, his defense also improved. Kudos to him!
But none of those moments Alonso had at the plate or in the field in a regular season game compared to the night when he owned Coors Field. Bobbing his head through the tournament, Alonso changed the storyline one July evening. He won the Home Run Derby quite handily.
In round one, Alonso beat Salvador Perez with 35 home runs. Round two included 16 dingers and a defeat of Juan Soto. In the finals, the Polar Bear stopped at 23 home runs when he took the victory away from Trey Mancini. He finished each round with the most home runs of any participant.
A big Mets moment this year, I don’t rank it as high as some others because we have seen this before and it made no difference in the standings. As an individual moment, however, I’m sure Alonso ranks this latest Home Run Derby win among his favorite MLB accomplishments.