UPDATE, 6/7/23 AT 8:36 p.m. ET:
Mets fans can breathe a sigh of relief. After exiting in the first inning, Pete Alonso was seen back in New York’s dugout a few innings later. SNY’s Steve Gelbs provided the good news, as well. Alonso’s X-rays came back negative and he has a contusion (a bone bruise). He’s considered day-to-day.
Original article, 6/7/23 at 7:49 p.m. ET
As if the Mets’ offense wasn’t already in a tough position, right? First baseman Pete Alonso stepped into the batter’s box during the first inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Braves. He then left shortly after once starting pitcher Charlie Morton hit him with a pitch on his left wrist.
Here’s a look at it:
Pete Alonso has left tonight's game vs. the Braves after being hit by a pitch. pic.twitter.com/P9S8Hrexfr
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 7, 2023
My goodness. Getting hit with a fastball on any part of the body isn’t ideal. But 97 mph to the wrist? Yea, that freakin’ hurts.
The first thought from a narrative perspective is this was on purpose after Pete got caught on a hot mic chirping at Bryce Elder after his home run on Tuesday. Despite the crowd in Atlanta sounding pleased that Alonso got plunked, it didn’t look intentional.
As Keith Hernandez said on the SNY broadcast, pitchers have to throw inside to a power hitter like Alonso, which prevents him from getting his arms fully extended on a swing. Plus, Morton’s immediate reaction tells us it was a mistake.
The Mets will now hold their collective breath. Alonso is MLB’s home run leader with 22 dingers, and he’s clearly the centerpiece of this offense. He’s also in the lineup every single day. The Polar Bear has started all 62 of New York’s games so far this season. He’s also been quite durable since his rookie season:
- 2019: 161 games played
- 2020: 57 games played (out of a possible 60)
- 2021: 152 games played
- 2022: 160 games played
So, we’ll see what comes of this. The best-case scenario is X-rays come back negative and he’s only out for a few days, or he misses the minimum if he has to hit the 10-day injured list. With the way they’ve performed thus far, the Mets can’t really afford to not have him in the lineup for an extended period of time. That’s not up to them, though.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
