Sep 28, 2019; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Citi Field. The home run was his 53rd of the season breaking the rookie record for home runs in a single season. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was named the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday.
Alonso (5.0 WAR, 148 OPS+, .260 BA, 53 HR) was selected over Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka (5.6 WAR, 169 ERA+, 1.111 WHIP, led NL in HR/9) and shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. of the San Diego Padres (4.2 WAR, 152 OPS+, .317 BA, 22 HR, 16 SB).
He received 29 of the 30 first place votes.
Alonso, 24, set a Major League Baseball rookie record for home runs, swatting 53, breaking the mark of 52 set by the Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees back in 2017. Alonso’s 53 home runs shattered the National League record of 39, set by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Alonso led all rookies in homers (53), RBI (120), extra-base hits (85), total bases (347), runs (102), walks (72), slugging (.586) and OPS (.945), tied for first in hits (154), second in multi-hit games (42), OBP (.359) and finished third in doubles (30). He is the first rookie in MLB history with 50 homers and 30 doubles.
He also won the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Cleveland in July.
Alonso tied for fifth among rookies in major league history with 85 extra-base hits. He set the Mets’ franchise record with 85 extra-base hits and recorded 153 hits in 2019, which is also a Mets rookie record.
The “Polar Bear” is the first rookie in modern baseball history to lead all of Major League Baseball in home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, two rookies since 1900 tied for the most home runs in a season: Tim Jordan for Brooklyn in 1906 (12 homers) and Mark McGwire with Oakland in 1987 (49).
This post was published on 2019-11-11 18:51
