The Polar Bear Roars! Doc Gooden Says Pete Alonso is the Mets Lineup Anchor
The New York Mets have rostered their fair share of superstars who would go on to become legends of not only the franchise, but baseball as a whole. When those legends talk, people listen, as it is their blood, sweat, and tears that have shaped this franchise for over 60 years.
While it is sometimes hard to tell at the time if a certain player will become a legend, it is not always hard to decipher who the heart and soul of a team’s lineup is.
Legendary Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden remains one of the best to ever set foot on the mound in the history of the franchise. With his Triple Crown performance in 1985, a year that saw him pitch to a 1.53 ERA across 276.2 innings (neither of those are typos, in case those of you born after 2000 were wondering), Gooden cemented his legacy as an All-Time Met.
The legendary pitcher spoke with New York Post Sports at Spring Training, singing high praise for the newly re-signed Pete Alonso, who Gooden dubbed the “heart and soul of the lineup.”
“Pete’s still the heart and soul of that lineup,” Gooden said. “You gotta have him in the middle of the lineup. They say last year [he had] an off year, but he still hit 34 home runs. So just imagine if he had a good year!”
While many have considered 2024 to be a down year for Alonso, the Polar Bear batted .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs, 88 RBI, and a 123 OPS+ across 695 plate appearances in 162 games. The 123 OPS+ is the second-lowest mark for his career, but it is the same mark he posted in that metric across the 2023 season.
Alonso is the quintessential power hitter. There will not be much average to be had from his bat, but he can change the tide of any close game with one swing. In just 3,607 plate appearances across his career, Alonso has tallied 226 home runs, or one home run every 15.96 plate appearances. That is a mark better than even Shohei Ohtani’s, which sits at 16.00.
It is hard to argue with a legend the likes of Doc Gooden, especially with what Alonso brings to the table. If the first baseman is able to bounce back a level closer to his 162-game average of 43 home runs, this New York lineup will be one of the scariest in MLB, let alone in the National League East.
