ST. LOUIS (AP) 鈥� In a sport where the most successful players fail in most of their at-bats, Pete Alonso knows perfection is not possible. But that won鈥檛 stop him from trying.
Alonso hit the go-ahead home run in the Mets鈥� 9-3 win at St. Louis on Friday night to keep up his strong start.
鈥淭his game is really imperfect, and I never really truly feel like that it鈥檚 ever going to be perfect, but I just want to be able to strive for that perfection,鈥� Alonso said.
Through 33 games, Alonso has an 1.137 OPS for the NL East-leading Mets. A career .249 hitter entering 2025, his batting average is .345 and he鈥檚 also drawn 24 walks.
Alonso said his drive to take his game to the next level was spurred on by getting a taste of the playoffs last year, when New York made it to the NL Championship Series.
鈥淓very game counts,鈥� Alonso said.
Beyond that, every at-bat and every swing 鈥� or decision not to swing 鈥� matters.
鈥淭his is year seven (in MLB)," Alonso said. "I know what I need to do to be successful. And for me, I think just holding on to holding on to my swing mechanics and just trying to be the best version of myself every single pitch, every single at bat, every single night.鈥�
Brandon Nimmo, Alonso鈥檚 teammate his entire big-league career, has seen the difference.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just another exclamation point on all the work that he鈥檚 done this offseason. It seems like he鈥檚 in an amazing spot, to me,鈥� Nimmo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a flash in the pan. Like, this is sustained success.
Last season, Alonso struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances, tying for the 14th-most in the league. He鈥檚 reduced that number to less than 15% so far this season.
鈥淲e know the power is there, and we know he鈥檚 a good hitter, but he gets in trouble when he starts chasing,鈥� Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 鈥淚 feel like now, like he鈥檚 taking his walk and he鈥檚 getting pitches to hit and he鈥檚 not missing them.鈥�
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AP MLB:
Jeff Latzke, The Associated Press
