New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso changes his look in hopes of ending his current post-All-Star Break slump.
While the New York Mets season has been up-and-down, there’s one man who’s mostly been a positive aspect for them. It’s rookie first baseman Pete Alonso. The 24-year-old has hit 34 home runs with 78 RBIs through 110 games this year. Alonso’s also posting a slash line of .256/.361/.580.
However, after his Home Run Derby victory and all-around fantastic All-Star Break, Alonso has been in a deep slump for New York. He’s currently 11-for-73 (.151) since the Midsummer Classic, having only hit four home runs. In hopes of getting past these struggles from the batter’s box, Alonso has decided to change the look he’s been sporting for the majority of the year.
“I stopped hitting with the beard, so I decided to shave it,” Alonso said, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Mets fans hope this beard shaving will work because, despite their winning ways, New York needs Alonso to step it up and exit this period of complications.
The Mets, who’ve had a mostly disappointing season, have begun to slowly but surely climb the National League Wild Card standings as of late, hence the “up-and-down” adjective for this specific year. They’ve won nine out of their last ten games and have won their last four series. Not to mention, they currently have a 15-6 record since the All-Star Break, as they’ve inched to just one game below .500.
Yes, they’re still 10.0 games out of first place in the NL East, but they’re only 3.0 games out of the Wild Card. They return to Citi Field on Monday to begin a four-game series against the Miami Marlins, which includes a double-header that same day.
