rewrite this title Pete Alonso opens up about previous struggles amid MVP-caliber season

Before first baseman Pete Alonso emerged as the most valuable player for a New York Mets team that entered Tuesday with the best record in the National League (42-24), he endured plenty of lows across the previous two seasons. 

During a recent conversation with Laura Albanese of Newsday, Alonso opened up about what went wrong for him during some plate appearances in 2023 and 2024. 

“After 2023 and in 2024, I didn’t necessarily feel like myself,” Alonso admitted. “I was kind of teeter-tottering all year…I want to be able to feel like myself on a consistent basis. I don’t want to go through times where I’m trying to figure it out, where I don’t 100 percent feel like I want to feel [regardless] of the results. I want to feel good. I want to feel confident in my game plan. A lot of hard work has gone into working and holding on to good mechanics.”

Alonso reportedly rejected
a seven-year, $158M contract extension offer from the Mets during the 2023 season. While he ended that campaign with 46 home runs and 118 RBI, he also hit just .217. He then slashed .240/.329/.459 with a .788 OPS, 34 homers and 88 RBI over 162 regular-season games before he reached free agency last year. 

Alonso turned 30 years old this past December and found throughout the offseason that the market for his services wasn’t as robust as he had hoped. In the end, he signed a two-year, $54M contract with a player opt-out after this season to stay with the Mets. 

Along with making tweaks regarding his body position inside the batter’s box, Alonso has also used added research to help him find success throughout this spring. Per ESPN stats, the “Polar Bear” began Tuesday leading all of MLB with 61 RBI on the season. Over his first 66 games of the campaign, he slashed .301/.396/.594. with a .990 OPS and 17 home runs. 

“It’s trusting my studying…trusting my swing and staying consistent in my mechanics [and] the efficiency of my mechanics,” Alonso said. “The mechanics in past years weren’t necessarily as clean. There was a lot of wasted movement.” 

Fair or not, the perception existed that Alonso pressed
at the plate throughout 2024 for reasons related to uncertainty about his future. He could soon face a different type of pressure if he remains hot and the Mets stay atop the NL standings through the All-Star break. As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Alonso seventh among the betting favorites at +3000 odds to claim the NL Most Valuable Player Award for this season. 

Alonso sounds ready to fight off the type of swoon that impacted him last summer. 

“I definitely feel comfortable, but at the same time, you can’t really feel too comfortable because comfort builds complacency,” Alonso added. “For me, [the key] definitely has been being more prepared, being more self-aware of myself and my swing and my ability. I definitely think that’s the maturation process in the big leagues.”

Alonso and the Mets open a three-game home series versus the Washington Nationals (30-35) on Tuesday evening.