New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso has larger goals in mind after winning this year’s National League Rookie of the Year.
The brightest spot for the New York Mets this season was rookie first baseman Pete Alonso. The 24-year old smacked 53 home runs, which was the most single-season home runs in Mets franchise history. It also broke the record for most single-season bombs by a rookie. That record was previously set by New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in 2017.
For his efforts, Alonso received 29 out of 30 first-place votes and won the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year Award. Afterward, Alonso appeared on and interviewed with SNY’s “Baseball Night in America.” The slugger was obviously grateful he won the prestigious award but reminded viewers that he has even larger goals in mind.
Pete Alonso is thrilled to win Rookie of the Year, but he has greater aspirations:
"I want to win a World Series and help the New York Mets hoist that trophy up" pic.twitter.com/AKlQngdOO3
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 12, 2019
“I’m really happy with the year I had,” Alonso said. “But the ultimate goal is to win a World Series. I want to win a World Series and help the New York Mets hoist that trophy up at the end of the year.”
“I feel like the individual stuff is going to come along with that because I hold myself up to high expectations,” he added. “I want to keep improving and keep climbing the ladder, however you want to put it. I just want to keep progressing and keep evolving. Next year I want to be more dynamic and I just want to help the team win.”
Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka received the one first-place vote that Alonso didn’t receive. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was also in the running for the award. However, he didn’t receive any first-place votes.
Alonso additionally drove 120 batters in with a slash line of .260/.358/.583 this past season. His efforts helped the Mets down the stretch. New York went from being 11 games under-.500 to finishing with an 86-76 record. Alonso’s ultimate goal will thus require the team to climb over that hump and make the postseason in 2020.
