How Pete Alonso 'crushed' Mets legend with offseason decision

It's no secret that first baseman Pete Alonso did not receive a formal offer from New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns before Alonso left what had been his only baseball home since he made his MLB debut in 2019 to sign a five-year, $155M contract with Baltimore this past offseason. 

During a recent appearance on New York sports radio station WFAN, Mets legend Darryl Strawberry didn't hide his feelings regarding Alonso's departure from the organization. 

Darryl Strawberry "spent a lot of time talking" with Pete Alonso ahead of free-agency decision

"I was really crushed that he didn’t [return] because I like Pete and we spent a lot of time talking," Strawberry explained, per Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media. "And talking about the fact of, how can you win here? And I was trying to really encourage him about the fact that you guys just gotta believe in each other and not let everybody else get inside of you. And when you have the kind of numbers he was putting, he was going to be the franchise [leader] of all the numbers, not just breaking my home run records, with RBIs and this and that." 

Alonso leapfrogged Strawberry to become the Mets' all-time home run king in the summer of 2025. While Strawberry previously said he felt Alonso would regret leaving the Mets, he has since acknowledged that he "didn’t know anything" about Stearns' handling of the slugger's status this past fall. 

Strawberry played for the Mets from 1983-90 season. The Mets retired Strawberry's No. 18 during the 2024 campaign. 

Darryl Strawberry understands Mets, Pete Alonso made business decisions

"It’s a business," Strawberry added. "It’s a different business today, more than anything. And I kinda wished he had stayed here because it’s a great place, and your legacy here is really strong when you have your number sitting up on top of the stadium. That means you played some really good baseball in a hard place. And New York City is very tough." 

Stearns dismantling the core of the Mets' roster has remained unpopular among pockets of fans, largely because New York is in last place and began Monday with a 20-26 record. If Alonso goes on to hit epic postseason home runs as a member of the Orioles, Stearns could go down as an all-time enemy for Mets supporters.