Pete Alonso Passes Mike Piazza For 3rd-Most Home Runs in New York Mets History

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso crushed a 439-foot bomb against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, making franchise history in the process.

Aug 29, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) hits a solo home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in three days, Pete Alonso got the New York Mets on the board with a bang.

Alonso was due up first in the top of the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. After working a seven-pitch at-bat, Alonso took Ryne Nelson yard with a 439-foot solo shot to straightaway center.

That home run, which was Alonso's 29th of the season, put the Mets on top 1-0. New York went on to defeat Arizona 3-2.

As noted by MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Alonso now ranks third in Mets history with 221 career home runs. His homer on Thursday vaulted him past Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, who has been bumped to fourth place.

Darryl Strawberry still has the most home runs in franchise history with 252. David Wright ranks second with 242.

most HR, Mets history:

Darryl Strawberry: 252 (1,109 games)
David Wright: 242 (1,585)
Pete Alonso: 221 (818)
Mike Piazza: 220 (972) https://t.co/09oM0T6Q2f

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 29, 2024

Alonso previously tied Piazza on the franchise's all-time leaderboards on Tuesday.

At his current pace, Alonso should finish 2024 with 35 home runs, which would put him at 227 for his career. That would leave the slugger just 25 homers shy of Strawberry's record by the end of the year.

Considering Alonso has averaged 44 home runs per 162 games since reaching the big leagues in 2019, plus the fact that he has never missed more than 10 games in a single season, he is almost guaranteed to exceed 252 homers at some point in 2025.

The one thing that could stand in the way of Alonso breaking the Mets' all-time record is his impending free agency. The four-time All-Star, who is set to turn 30 years old in December, could decide to leave New York behind this winter.

It remains to be seen what Alonso's market looks like, considering 2024 has been one of his least effective seasons yet. He is likely to end the year with career-lows in home runs, RBI, OPS and WAR, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Alonso is batting .244 with 29 home runs, 74 RBI, an .800 OPS and a 2.0 WAR so far this season. He hasn't drawn a walk since Aug. 21, nor has he recorded a multi-RBI performance since Aug. 13.

Even amid Alonso's up-and-down year, the Mets remain right in the thick of the playoff race. With a win Thursday, New York moved 3.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.

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