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New York Mets star slugger Pete Alonso made his return to the home run derby for the fifth time on Monday evening, looking to join hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the only three-time champion in MLB history.
The 29-year-old won the competition as a rookie in Cleveland in 2019 and again in 2021 in Colorado but hasn’t won since falling to Julio Rodriguez in back-to-back years.
With Rodriguez not participating, the Flushing Faithful felt that it might just be Alonso’s year, but it wasn’t the Polar Bear’s night.
Mets’ Pete Alonso exits in the first round of the Home Run Derby
Entering the night as the betting favorite, Alonso struggled to get into a rhythm and finished the round with just 12 home runs, one more than Gunnar Henderson, who finished with 11.
“I just didn’t think I squared up enough baseballs at the right launch angle,” Alonso said of his struggles.“Obviously, I didn’t put my best foot forward today, and it’s disappointing. But, for me, it’s just a blessing and so much fun being out here. I’m out here competing, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t my day, and I hope whoever the winner is, they enjoy it.”
For the second year in a row, it seemed the pitches to the 29-year-old weren’t the best; 67-year-old Dave Jauss seemed to be throwing a bit slow, with the pitches often running in on Alonso and jamming him.
Alonso hints that there is more to come
Despite losing his third straight home run derby, the Polar Bear still seems interested in competing again.
“This is an event that I’ve really admired since I was a kid, so I’m basically doing it for my seven or eight-year-old self,” Alonso said. “It’s a blessing to be out here and to perform, it’s a super fun event, and I love competing in it, so yeah, there’s definitely more in there.”
The 2025 all-star game is set to take place at Truist Park in Atlanta, but time will tell if Alonso competes in that home run derby and if it will be in a Mets jersey.
