The New York Mets saw their 2024 season end on Sunday night with a 10-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. While the Dodgers are advancing to the World Series to face the New York Yankees, the Mets are advancing into the offseason. The leading assumption of the offseason is that tenured and beloved slugger Pete Alonso on Sunday played his final game with the Mets. That's because Alonso is slated for free agency this offseason, and the expectation is that the Mets will let him walk and sign elsewhere without any further engagement on a contract extension.
Alonso after Game 6 addressed that very possibility – that he's done playing for the only team he's known as a professional.
"I've loved being a New York Met," Alonso told reporters on Sunday night. "I love representing the city of New York. I love representing Queens. This has been really special."
Here are his full remarks:
Pete Alonso was asked to sum up his last six seasons:
— SNY (@SNYtv) October 21, 2024
"I've loved being a New York Met. I love representing the city of New York, I love representing Queens. This has really been special." pic.twitter.com/aN2b1RMRkz
Alonso is an organizational lifer – a Met since being drafted with a second-round pick in 2016. He memorably hit 53 home runs as a rookie in 2019, and overall he has 226 home runs in six seasons. He was productive again in 2024, albeit not quite up to his peak standards. Lead decision-maker David Stearns is probably hesitant to invest market rates in a first baseman who already may be showing some soft signs of decline and who turns 30 in December. In light of all that, Alonso seems highly likely to be playing for another team next year. You'll note that above Alonso spoke in the past tense about the Mets.
No matter how the future plays out, Alonso will always be a popular figure among Mets fans, and that doesn't figure to change even when he's playing for someone else.
