SAN FRANCISCO — Pete Alonso took it personally last October when the Mets were eliminated from the postseason with a loss to the Padres in the NL wild-card series.
Alonso says he took a “deep dive” during the offseason into examining where he could improve.
The results have followed through the first three weeks of the regular season.
Alonso entered Friday night’s game against the Giants tied for the major league lead with nine homers.
He owned a 1.024 OPS, and by at least one metric, he’s so far been among the game’s best first basemen defensively.
“I just feel really good and in control right now, which is a really good feeling, because I am taking pitches — borderline pitches — and just capitalizing on stuff in my zone,” Alonso said. “I feel like I am more of a complete player. I feel like I am playing well on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively and I feel like I am running the bases well.”
The Mets had six victories in seven games to open this West Coast trip as they arrived at Oracle Park on Friday, and Alonso’s hot bat ranked high on the list of reasons the team has succeeded in overcoming injuries within the starting rotation.
On the trip, entering play, Alonso was 10-for-29 (.345) with three homers.
That included a blast in Thursday’s series-opening victory against the Giants.
But Alonso also showed his value later in the game, delivering a two-run single.
Alonso owned a .286/.375/.649 slash line as play started.
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“I am dictating the at-bat,” Alonso said. “If the pitcher executes, that’s great, tip my hat, but for me, it’s I am in complete control of when I swing the bat. If they make a high-quality pitch on the corner, I am not going to be able to do anything with it. Most of the time, I have been able to not swing at those pitches and I feel like my chase has been pretty consistently down through these first three weeks or so that I feel good, really good.
“I feel good with the quality of swings decisions that I am making and then I feel like overall I am just playing real good ball right now.”
He isn’t alone.
Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, in particular, have helped carry a lineup that has averaged 6.6 runs on the West Coast trip.
Alonso last year became the first player in Mets history to hit at least 40 homers in two different seasons.
He finished with 40, after blasting an MLB rookie record 53 in 2019. But the homers haven’t brought complacency.
The improvements have included a very respectable one out above average defensively at first base, according to Statcast.
That number places him in the 84th percentile among MLB first basemen.
Last season Alonso finished minus-8 in outs above average, which ranked only in the fifth percentile.
Alonso’s biggest improvement has come in his lateral movements toward third base.
“We fell short last year in the postseason and I just wanted to do what I could to get better,” Alonso said. “If I could get better and contribute a little bit more or kind of evolve as a player, I feel like that could help the team. For me, I took it upon myself to work hard in the offseason, whether that being mentally or physically and trying to hone in on the stuff I could [to] get better offensively or defensively. I feel like I took a real deep dive and spring training was a good place to try out those things and now we’re going.”