Pete Alonso Breaks Mets Rookie RBI Record

Pete Alonso has had a historic rookie season in a Mets uniform in 2019 and he broke another record on Saturday as he now holds the RBI record for a rookie.

Alonso, 24, passed Darryl Strawberry for the RBI record with it previously standing at 74 in a rookie season for the Mets. The right-handed slugger broke the record coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning.

With runners on first and second, Alonso crushed an 0-1 pitch from Ty Blach into the right-center field seats to drive in three runs raising his season RBI total to 75.

The first baseman’s homer was his 33rd of the season and his third since the All-Star break. Alonso is now hitting .267/.359/.615 (.974 OPS) on the season.

It appears very likely that Alonso will win the Rookie of the Year Award having broken the Mets rookie home run record (previously held by Strawberry at 26 homers), while also breaking the NL rookie home run record before the All-Star break (previously held by Cody Bellinger at 25 homers), and tied Mark McGwire for the most home runs by a rookie before July 1 at 28 homers.

Alonso also won NL Rookie of the Month in April and June, with Austin Riley winning the award in May. While Alonso’s .184 average in July prior to Saturday likely will mean he does not receive the award at the end of this month, he certainly had a memorable one as he won the Home Run Derby in Cleveland.