Well, it’s been that kind of year for the Mets and Pete Alonso.
Even in the Home Run Derby, the event that he loves.
It wasn’t just that Alonso got matched up in the first round against a guy who set a record for most home runs in a single round, as the Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez absolutely went off before the hometown Seattle crowd.
No, Alonso’s well-laid plan was altered before the event started: his hand-picked pitcher, his old Tampa travel ball coach named Mike Friedleinhad to bow out due to a forearm injury after having thrown some BP sessions to the Mets’ slugger in recent days.
Instead Alonso had one of the Mets’ regular BP pitchers fly out to Seattle, presumably on short notice, and well, let’s just say the moment was a little too big for the guy on Monday night.
After watching Rodriguez launch 41 home runs, Alonso needed everything to go right to have a chance, even as a two-time Derby champion who once called himself the best power hitter on the planet after winning the event for the second time in 2021.
Instead the BP pitcher really didn’t give Alonso a chance, struggling with his control to the point that he was throwing as many pitches on the outside corner as he put in the slugger’s sweet spot on the inner half of the plate.
Because Alonso was limited to three minutes to hit as many HRs as possible, it’s not like he could afford to take pitches and wait for his guy to find a groove. So he wound up hitting a lot of outside pitches to the opposite field, and not for home runs.
He still managed to hit 21 home runs but that wasn’t nearly good enough, and for the second straight year Alonso was bounced by Rodriguez. Better pitching might have at least given him a shot but the Mets’ star gave all the credit to his opponent.
“I thought I put on a good show, I just ran into a buzzsaw,” Alonso said to reporters in Seattle. “He had a ridiculously historic first round. That was incredible to watch.”
As it turned out, maybe Rodriguez wore himself out in that first round. He lost in the next round to Vlad Guerrero Jr.who went on to win the Derby, defeating Randy Arozarena in the finals.
And I know Alonso’s pitcher had his last name on the back of his jersey, but I don’t feel it’s necessary to name him for the story. He throws BP at Citi Field for the Mets and he’s probably going to get enough grief already.
As it was, the jokes were flying on Twitter Monday night:
“I haven’t seen a guy paint the corners like that since Maddux.”
“Maybe we need to look at him for (the Mets’) bullpen.”
And then there were those who couldn’t resist a swing at another piece of low-hanging fruit.
“Pete should have brought Max to pitch.”
And that wasn’t the only reference to Max Scherzeras Mets fans have officially lost all patience with the three-time Cy Young winner after he gave up those homers to Manny Machado on Sunday.
Yes, it has been that kind of year for Mets’ fans as well as the ball club. Nothing has seemed to go right, starting with that night in mid-March when Edwin Diaz suffered a major knee injury celebrating a World Baseball Classic win for Team Puerto Rico.
Even with 26 home runs this season, Alonso has been a big reason for the Mets’ offensive inconsistency. He started the season hot with 20 home runs by May 27th. But since then he has hit only six in June and July, but more remarkably, he has hit only .149 during that time, 14-for-94, to lower his season average to .211.
A hit-by-pitch on the left wrist a few weeks ago didn’t help, causing him to be sidelined for several days, but, in any case, Alonso was hoping the Home Run Derby would be just what he needed to jump- start his second half.
“I always feel like this event helps me get locked in on my swing,” Alonso said on Monday before the Derby.
We’ll see. He hit two home runs during the Mets’ six-game winning streak last week but then went 0-for-10 in San Diego over the weekend. During the series in Arizona with the Diamondbacks, SNY analyst Keith Hernandez said on one of the telecasts that “Pete just looks off to me.”
Maybe that will change quickly in the second half. The Mets need a lot to change quickly if they’re going to get back into wild-card contention.
In the big picture, of course, losing the Derby is insignificant.
It’s just that, as it turned out, everything that could go wrong for Alonso in this event did go wrong which pretty much sums up the Mets’ season to this point.