New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso hit his 100th (and later his 101st) career home run on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. By doing so, Alonso became the second-fastest player to reach that mark in Major League Baseball history, as judged by games played, according to Tim Healey of Newsday.
Alonso was playing in his 347th big-league game, putting him just a few weeks behind longtime Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who launched his 100th home run in his 325th game. The top five for this particular piece of trivia also includes a pair of current New York Yankees, in catcher Gary Sánchez (355) and outfielder Aaron Judge (371), as well as Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner (376).
Alonso’s milestone blast came in the first inning against right-handed starter Edward Cabrera. The ball left his bat traveling at 106.2 mph and carried some 425 feet, according to Statcast’s calculations. Here’s a look at the video:
Alonso entered the night hitting .268/.345/.514 (135 OPS+) with 30 home runs in his first 128 games this season. He did most of his damage during his rookie season in 2019, slugging 53 homers to set a new rookie record. Last year, during the pandemic-shortened campaign, he homered 16 times in 57 games.
With Alonso’s 100th and 101st home runs out of the way, it’s worth noting that a couple of players have a chance to join that top-five over the coming year. San Diego Padres outfielder/shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has homered 76 times in 248 contests (or a pace that rivals the aforementioned Howard’s) while Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Álvarez has collected 56 home runs in 209 games. Álvarez’s rate falls short of Alonso’s, though that doesn’t make his immense power less impressive.
The Mets could use more displays of strength from Alonso over the coming weeks if they’re to make the postseason. They came into play on Tuesday four games back in the National League East and 4 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild card spot.
