Pete Alonso sends message about future after becoming Mets' home run king

First baseman Pete Alonso became the New York Mets' new home run king when he smashed career homers 253 and 254 in the club's 13-5 win over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Tuesday night. 

Following the victory, the 30-year-old slugger sent a clear message to Mets owner Steve Cohen and team president of baseball operations David Stearns regarding the future. 

"I have a goal to play baseball until I’m through my age 40 season, and for me, I’m going to work hard and do that," Alonso said, as shared by Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News. "The business side — Steve and David, they’ve got to come through."

Alonso accepted a two-year deal to return to the Mets this past February but likely will opt out of that contract following the season. According to ESPN stats, the "Polar Bear" began Wednesday leading the 2025 Mets among qualified players with a .267 batting average, 28 home runs (tied with Juan Soto) and an .880 OPS. At the time, Alonso was third in all of MLB with 96 RBI on the season. 

"I love the city of New York," Alonso said after making Mets history, per John Flanigan of SNY. "I love the fanbase. It’s been great. The business is the business side if they choose to go in another direction. But for me, it’s been an absolute treat and pleasure playing here -- this group is really special. That was one of the biggest reasons why I came back. ...We just have an incredible group here that has a great purpose, and it’s been great playing here, I hope it doesn’t end."

Mets fans loudly made it clear during the winter that they want to continue calling Alonso one of their own beyond the ongoing season. He was developed through the organization and has played only for the Mets since he made his MLB debut in 2019.

"I’ve grown up in this organization, so to speak," Alonso added during his comments. "They believed in me as a 21-year-old kid, and they’ve consistently believed in me. Hopefully they continue to believe in me -- but for right now, I’m just focused on our group effort day-to-day. This group is really talented and really special, so I’m just excited to keep going with this group -- we have talent, we have grit, we have resiliency. Those are all hallmarks of what good ball clubs are, and because we have those characteristics, we believe in ourselves."

Anthony McCarron of SNY and Tyler Kepner of The Athletic are among those who said following Tuesday's game that the club should do right by its paying customers and make Alonso "a forever Met." For now, the Mets will focus on trying to hold onto a playoff berth after they went from 45-24 to 63-55 before Tuesday's win.