King of Queens: Former Gator Alonso Breaks Mets' HR Record

Previously sitting atop this category for the Mets was Darryl Strawberry, who played 1,109 games across eight seasons with New York. For Alonso, though, it has only taken him seven seasons and 965 total games played. 

His first of the night came in the second inning. With a runner on base, Alonso took one deep to right center to extend his team’s lead to four runs. Then, in the sixth inning, Alonso mashed a ball over the center field wall that pushed the Mets’ lead to six runs. 

He is now hitting .267 on the season with 28 homers and 96 RBIs. 

Alonso has been one of the league's loudest bats since entering the majors in 2019. In each of his seven years, he has hit at least 15 homers. Furthermore, in six of them, he has hit at least 25 homers. 

The slugging first baseman’s career-best year came in his rookie season in 2019. He broke onto the season, slashing .260/.358/.583 with an OPS of .941 in 161 games. More notably, he launched a career-best 53 home runs and drove in 120 runners. His 53 homers were a National League-best as well. 

He has also backed up his power-hitting prowess during All-Star weekend, too. The former Gator has won multiple home run derbies in his professional career, taking home his first in 2019 and coming out victorious for the second time in 2021. 

In addition to participating in the home run derby, Alonso has consistently been involved in the All-Star game. He has made the All-Star game in five of his seven years. 

Surprisingly, though,  Alonso never produced these types of numbers in college. His best year, in terms of home runs, came in his final year with the program. In 2016, he hit just 14 homers in 58 games. Before his junior season, he hit five as a sophomore and four as a freshman. 

He was still a great player for the Gators in his time with the program. He was a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, D1baseball.com First Team All-American, NCBWA First Team All-American and Perfect Game/Rawlings First Team All-American as a junior. He was also named to the 2014 SEC All-Freshman team and the 2015 SEC All-Tournament team. 

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