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If I were Pete Alonso, I would want to leave the New York Mets organization. He has been insulted multiple times in a number of ways. Why would anyone want to stay under such circumstances? And so the Pete Alonso free agent saga begins again.
While it is true that Alonso had a down year – for him – in 2024, he still deserved to be treated better than he was, with a better offer than he received. His down year still provided a kind of power bat in a lineup that is not easily found.
Whether or not it was Scott Boras making unreasonable demands, unfortunately for him, no other team thought that way, no other team thought Alonso’s power bat appealing enough to make him an offer. And so he was compelled to return to the Mets on a mutually beneficial opt out contract.
Alonso ended up rebounding and actually having what is probably his best season overall in 2025, even if he didn’t top 50 home runs. Now the saga begins again, to re-sign Alonso to a big contract, or let him walk away. If I am Alonso, I would take the opportunity to go where I am more appreciated and under less scrutiny.
However, the Pete Alonso argument to keep, or fold, is subjective, and can be viewed a few ways.
The 2025 New York Mets season is finally over, as is the pain that has gone along with it. There are those who would use the phrase “epic collapse” but that is really not an accurate description of how the season actually went.
While it IS true that the Mets were 45-24, a .652 winning percentage, 21 games over .500 and a 5 ½ game lead in the NL East, that was in June. The “collapse” began on June 13 and continued in a steady deterioration as the Mets were able to even recapture first place for a few days, only to rapidly descend further and further until they weren’t even the third best wild card team.
First, it was Jimmy Kimmel. Now it’s the New York Mets broadcasters, Gary Cohen and Todd Zeile who fans, well some fans, are targeting. And why? Because it was revealed that Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw left the team and missed a game because he thought it more important to attend the “memorial service” for Charlie Kirk.
Gary Cohen said, “I don’t want to talk about the politics of it, but the thought of leaving your team in the middle of a race for any reason other than a family emergency. Really strikes me as weird.”
Todd Zeile followed it up with, “It’s unusual, I think it’s unprecedented at least from my experience as a player, and I think it made it a little more unusual that it was not revealed until after it came to issue because he was thought to be in the dugout and maybe available, and was not, and that’s how it was revealed.”
On August 5, 1973, the New York Mets were 12 games under .500 with a record of 48-60, 11 ½ games out of first place.
Although they would begin to level off, they would sink to 13 games under .500 with a record of 53-66 on August 17, but would be only 7 ½ games back. So, record-wise, August 17 would be their low watermark of the season.
Then, in coordination with the return of front-liners Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, and Jerry Grote, the Mets went on a tear going 29-13 the rest of the way, a .690 winning percentage.
On June 12, the New York Mets were sitting atop the Eastern Division of the National League, 5 ½ games in front of the Philadelphia Phillies. They were 21 games over .500 with a record of 45-24. It would be their high watermark of the season.
So what happened?
September is the stretch drive in Major League Baseball and in an era where more teams make the post season than ever before, it makes it pretty difficult to be on the outside looking in. At least that is the way it would seem. For the New York Mets, it would amount to a huge failure if they were to not at least participate in post season play.
The team was put together with the intent to play meaningful September games and deep into the post season. That was the intent. The reality is that the team was not put together to be a dominant team. Other than the monumental signing of Juan Soto, the components were not all that compelling, in fact, they were truly questionable.
The New York Mets have hit the skids and there’s no hints that it will end anytime soon.
They had a seven game winning streak. But then, they went on to lose 11 of 12 games and the last seven in a row.
It’s painful.
In 2018 Matt Harvey was asked to go to the Minor Leagues and get himself right. He refused. He was stubborn. He thought he was too much a star to be treated with such disrespect. You can’t try to “fix” yourself on the Major League level in the midst of a pennant race.
During the San Diego Padres series, Mark Vientos let loose with his first grand slam home run of the season. He also let loose his frustration about his playing time, or lack there of, and said that it is “difficult to improve" when you are not playing on a consistent basis.
This year’s trade deadline was not as glamorous and spectacular as it was 10 years ago for the New York Mets. Of course, we had the drama of the non-trade of Wilmer Flores to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez. And the acquisitions of Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe from the Atlanta Braves, and Tyler Clippard from the Oakland A’s. It all led up to the trade for Yoenis Cespedes at the deadline that basically delivered the Mets a trip to the World Series.
The Cespedes trade, and those like it, don’t happen that often. The Mets were fortunate that they got Cespedes who was not only talented, but red smoking hot, and he carried the team on his back offensively. But don’t underestimate the value of Clippard, Johnson, and Uribe – three battle-tested veterans who brought a winning culture and professionalism into the clubhouse.
So now that Francisco Lindor has officially been named the next captain of the New York Mets by Yahoo!, we can also bid adieu to Pete Alonso at the end of the season. Now, of course, it really didn't happen as reported by Yahoo!, but if it did, it would be the end of Alonso's tenure with the Mets.
Now I loved Lindor before he even became a Met. And I was ecstatic when they got him, and extended him with a hefty contract. And he’s my favorite Met.
But I don’t believe that he should, at this time, be named captain of the New York Mets. The timing would seem to indicate that there is a definitive mindset with regard to Alonso and his place on this team.
And what good is naming a captain going to do anyway? A leader leads. That’s it. At this point, given the changes in the dynamics of the game and how players behave and how they are treated, and the various roles in the clubhouse and how they have evolved over the years, the “role” of captain is truly meaningless. It’s an honorary status bestowed upon someone who is believed to be deserving of such reverence.
The New York Mets were always known for the ability to produce great pitchers. I think that while it is somewhat true, it’s really a bit overblown. I mean, yes, there was Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack in the late 60’s to early 70’s; and there was Doc Gooden, David Cone, Ron Darling, and Sid Fernandez in the 80’s; and then you had a guy like Jacob deGrom dominate in recent years. But, for the most part, the Mets have been just as futile with pitching staffs over the years as every other club.
What do I mean by that? Well, take a look at the fact that, in at least the last decade, there have been no dominant starters for a lengthy period of time, and certainly no starting rotations that are the core of a team’s success – like the 1990’s Atlanta Braves. Gone are the days when you will see guys like Maddox, Smoltz, and Glavine – three Hall of Famers – run out there every fourth or fifth day and go 7, 8, or even 9 innings. That’s just not happening any longer.
The Mets success has always rested on their pitching and strong starting rotations. The five years that the Mets went to the World Series is clear evidence of that. So why should it be any different now? Why would the formula change?
While the New York Yankees fans always had a disdain for teams that were bitter rivals of the Bronx Bombers, a la the Boston Red Sox for a very long time and, for a short time, the Kansas City Royals, the Mets fans always seemed to be more direct and target a player. And quite often it was for good reason.
Take John Rocker of the Atlanta Braves. Or Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies (actually he was with the L.A. Dodgers at the time of the infraction.) And we can’t forget the utter disgrace of the Cincinnati Reds Pete Rose. Each of those opponents drew the eternal ire of Mets fans. And for good reason.
But why Derek Jeter?
OK so maybe it’s time for the New York Mets to call on all the young kids and put them in the lineup every game and see where they take us. Because other than Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto, there is nobody else on this team that is worth guaranteeing a spot anyway. The rest of the brood ain’t doing anything so you might as well let the kids sink or swim because nobody else is doing the job, at least on a consistent basis, that’s for damn sure.
Geez…if you got a pay day of $765 million then the least you could do is make the All Star team, no? You would figure that if someone is commanding so much money…SO much money…that they would be considered, they would be included as, an All Star. I mean, you have to be a real star to garner that much money. But apparently not…not New York Mets superstar Juan Soto.
Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.
