Former Gators Slugger Ties Mets Legend for Team Home Run Record

He reaches the mark at a slightly quicker pace than Strawberry did. He reached the mark in 963 games compared to Strawberry’s 1,109 games in a Mets uniform. While he has the rest of this season to break the record and pull further ahead, the question remains how many years he will have in a Mets jersey to lock it down for a long time. 

He has a player option for 2026 and would be a free agent the following offseason regardless. Maybe he ends up staying a Met for the long term. Maybe he leaves with the record and takes it into this offseason, looking to sign a bigger contract elsewhere. 

Being a record holder certainly helps when going out on the open market. 

As he makes the push to be one of the best players in Mets history, he continues to push to establish himself as the best Gators alumnus in history. His home runs are by far the most by a former Gator in the Majors. Second place, for All-Star and American League MVP Al Rosen, had 192 career home runs. 

Alonso is also third all-time among former Gators in the Majors in RBIs (677) and is second in OPS (.854). To beat out Rosen in OPS, he’s going to need to have some even bigger years, but he can rise to the top of the list in RBIs just by sticking around the league. 

The Mets drafted Alonso out of Florida in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft. In his senior year, he finished with a .374 average, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs. He was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, the award for the best player in college baseball in a given season. 

He also received All-America honors from multiple outlets and was named Second Team All-SEC to finish his college career. 

He made his debut in 2019 and immediately started to break records. His 53 home runs are the record for the most by a rookie in a season. That season earned him the honor of being the National League Rookie of the Year. 

He’s made the National League All-Star team five times, including each of the last four seasons, and has also won the Home Run Derby twice, including once during his astonishing rookie season. 

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