Mets’ slumping slugger Pete Alonso heads to 3rd-career All-Star game – The Denver Post

PHOENIX — Pete Alonso knows the numbers: His expected batting average is .264 and his current average is .217.

“I’ve looked at my expected batting average and based on the numbers, the discrepancy is probably one of the largest in all of Major League Baseball,” Alonso told the Daily News on Wednesday at Chase Field. “I think it’s in the .260s and that’s kind of on par with who I’ve been in the past, but this year it’s not that. Now I’m hitting in the high .210s, but that’s like a 50-point discrepancy and that’s got to be the largest margin in the big leagues. That’s tough.”

Coming into Wednesday, his math wasn’t far off. It’s a 47-point discrepancy. Alonso made the All-Star team largely based on his 25 home runs, which currently rank third in the league, tied with Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox. Earlier this season, Alonso emerged as an NL MVP candidate, but this recent skid has cooled those odds.

Since returning from the injured list, he’s hit just .158 with three home runs and a .618 OPS in 15 games. Most telling is his .154 BABIP, which means most of the balls he’s putting in play are going for outs.

“It’s not like I need an overhaul,” he said. “There are certain little things that I can get better at, but also I need some of the balls I hit hard to start falling as well. There’s a mix of trying to get better and trying to capitalize on certain opportunities.”

Alonso has shown outward signs of frustration. He broke a bat over his knee last week. He’s taken full accountability for his lack of results at the plates, even blaming some of the Mets’ woes on himself.

“Ultimately, I just want to help the team win,” he said. “I hold myself to a high standard and I want to perform to my own expectations. I know that if I perform well then we have a better chance of winning more games.”

There is some truth to this, considering Alonso is a key leader on the field and in the clubhouse, but the team isn’t seven games under .500 because their best slugger is only 17 points above the Mendoza line. There is plenty of blame to go around. But there is no denying that Alonso has been hard on himself and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

There are five games left before he heads to Seattle for his third All-Star Game, so he’ll get time to bust this slump, but he’s not exactly going into this game riding any highs. Still, the festivities of the week are a reminder of what he is capable of. For the struggling Alonso, it’s a chance to have fun and hit pause for a few days while still staying close to the game.

“The game and the derby, they’re extremely fun events and I’m excited to participate in both,” he said. “I know that I’ve had success this year. I have had success. I’m really proud of success but I want to keep trying to evolve and get better…

“Also, it’s a chance to reflect and figure out how I can maximize consistency.”

Alonso has never had a stretch where he has played like this, but he’s confident that this is just temporary.

“I think the law of averages will take care of it, but I think I’ve got to keep finding ways to hit more consistently,” he said. “If I keep hitting more and more balls hard, it’s going to find grass. And if I lay off some tough pitches, I’ll draw more walks and that will be equally as productive as a single. I’m going to let a 162-game season run its course and I’ll do the best I can to keep making adjustments along the way and be the best I can be every single day.”

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