This Week in Mets: Is Pete Alonso having the best April in team history?

“You must accept suffering and redeem yourself by it.”
— “Crime and Punishment,” Fyodor Dostoevsky

By the standard he’s set this month, Pete Alonso had a quiet Sunday — just one hit, just one RBI. Alonso is amid a monster April, one that feels even louder given the circumstances of his offseason.

With 10 days to go in the month, it even feels a bit like the best April a Mets hitter has ever had.

That’s a pretty competitive category. Entering this season, 36 different Mets have posted an OPS of better than 1.000 through the end of April, or more than one every other season. Eighty-two have carried an on-base percentage above .400, and three have even done it with their batting average.

So let’s see where Alonso stacks up so far with some of the best April performances in team history, and what records he’s on pace to match or best. Two things worth noting: When I refer to April here, I include games that happened in March (in this or any season). That’s how the split is broken down at Baseball-Reference. And the Mets are set to play 31 games in March/April — two more than they have ever played by May 1. That obviously helps Alonso in the counting stats while hindering him in the rate stats.

Most hits: 40 (Derek Bell, 2000)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: 38

Because Bell was the trivia answer a few weeks back (thanks to his game-winning home run in the 2000 home opener), I was reminded then of just how good his start to that season was. The throw-in of the Mike Hampton trade, Bell was outstanding in April, collecting these 40 hits in 26 games with a .385 average. It did not last. Bell hit .238 the rest of the season (and just .187 after the All-Star break), and his sprained ankle in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants opened the door for Timo Pérez to become an October hero — and then an October goat.

Alonso enters Monday with a .346 average. He’d need to hit about .394 to catch Bell.

Most total bases: 68 (Pete Alonso, 2019)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: 79

One thing that stands out from this specific exercise: Alonso has had some really good Aprils! None were quite this good, but a few that are still notable. You know how many other rookies have posted at least 68 total bases in the first month of their careers? José Abreu (71) and Albert Pujols (68). That’s it.

Alonso should get this record pretty easily. Shohei Ohtani had 81 total bases last April, and the major-league record is an absurd 97 from Cody Bellinger’s MVP season in 2019. That’s 12 more than anyone else.

Most home runs: 10 (Pete Alonso, 2023)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: 8

Alonso ended 2023 with 46 long balls, behind only 2019 in his career. The rest of his offensive game lagged a bit behind in April, as he struck out 27 times to 11 walks and hit just .257. This year, he already has 14 walks to 12 punchouts.

While he still has some work to chase down Darryl Strawberry in the overall category, Alonso (42) has already passed Dave Kingman (35) for the most April home runs in franchise history.

Most RBIs: 26 (Jeff Kent, 1994 and Pete Alonso, 2019)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: 33

Alonso’s struggles with runners in scoring position last season meant he finished the year with, for him, a subpar 88 RBIs. His full-season pace right now is 176, or exactly double that. Yes, that will slow considerably at some point, but it’s been encouraging for the Mets to see Alonso look like his usual self in big spots.

Best slash line: .488/.582/.767/1.349 (John Milner, 1976)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: .346/.453/.718/1.171

It’s hard to be any better on a rate basis than Milner in April 1976. He was 21-for-55 with six extra-base hits and 11 walks. However, owing to injuries, Milner started just 11 of the 1976 Mets’ 20 April games, which puts an asterisk here. Kent in 1994 had the best slash line over at least 20 games at .375/.421/.739/1.160. You could do worse than set that Kent performance as the current best April in team history.

Most runs created: 30.9 (José Reyes, 2007)
Alonso’s 2025 pace: 35

If we want to get into some deeper math, we can use runs created to examine a larger picture of the offensive contribution. Reyes in 2007 reached base 53 times in 24 games, scoring a franchise record 26 April runs.

Alonso should pass that mark — again, the additional games help a lot — because he’s on pace to reach base 57 times in 31 games.

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The verdict? Yes, if Alonso keeps this up for nine more games, it will be the best April for a hitter in club history. (Oh yeah, FYI, Jacob deGrom has the best April overall, from 2021.) Alonso would not only set the record in many of the counting stats, but he’ll have a slash line close to Milner’s in more than twice the games.

The exposition

The Mets swept the Cardinals in a four-game series at Citi Field. New York is now 15-7, tied for the third-best start through 22 games in franchise history.

The Phillies couldn’t complete a sweep of the Marlins, blowing a late lead on Sunday. Philadelphia is 13-9.

The Nationals split their Sunday doubleheader in Colorado, though Washington still took two of three in the series to move to 9-13 on the season. The Nats have Monday off before hosting the Orioles for three games.

The pitching possibles

vs. Philadelphia

RHP Tylor Megill (2-2, 1.40 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (0-4, 6.65 ERA)
RHP Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.43) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (2-0, 2.96)
LHP David Peterson (1-1, 3.27) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (2-1, 3.73)

at Washington

RHP Kodai Senga (3-1, 0.79) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (2-0, 3.68)
RHP Clay Holmes (2-1, 3.16) vs. RHP Brad Lord (0-2, 4.73)
RHP Tylor Megill vs. LHP Mitchell Parker (2-1, 1.85)
RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Trevor Williams (1-2, 5.95)

Injury updates

Red = 60-day IL
Orange = 15-day IL
Blue = 10-day IL

• Mark Vientos came out of Saturday’s game and missed Sunday’s with left groin discomfort. Manager Carlos Mendoza was optimistic Vientos would be ready to play Monday.
• Jose Siri landed on the injured list, a few days later than expected, so the Mets could maneuver their roster in a certain way, with a fractured left tibia. The Mets have only said that Siri will be out “a while,” with the first re-evaluation to take place in another two weeks or so. I’m putting a pretty pessimistic September timeline on the center fielder because the other instances of fractured tibias that I could find (thanks to Baseball Prospectus) were either season-ending or required five months to return.
• Mendoza said Sunday that while Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil will both be evaluated in Queens on Monday, they’re likely to need additional time in their rehab assignments, mostly to get more at-bats. Alvarez caught back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday before batting as the DH on Sunday. McNeil played consecutive days on Saturday and Sunday, picking up six hits in the process.
• Paul Blackburn started his rehab assignment with two innings for Brooklyn on Saturday. The Mets want Blackburn to get up to about five innings and 75 pitches, so he’s probably another three weeks away.

Minor-league schedule

Triple-A: Syracuse at Worcester (Boston)
Double-A: Binghamton vs. New Hampshire (Toronto)
High-A: Brooklyn at Jersey Shore (Philadelphia)
Low-A: St. Lucie vs. Daytona (Atlanta)

Last week in Mets

• As Justin Hagenman was beating the odds to make his major-league debut, the scout who signed him could use the inspiration in his own battle.
•  Really interesting Q&A here between Will Sammon and Brandon Nimmo on Nimmo’s newfound aggressiveness at the plate.
• Francisco Lindor made his 250th career home run count.
• Is Griffin Canning the Mets’ next successful reclamation project?
• With Siri out, how creative might the Mets get in center field?
• How Juan Soto is getting pitched differently, and why not to worry too much yet about the Mets offense.

A note on the epigraph

I’ve read “Crime and Punishment” three times, though that’s more an accident than anything. I read it one summer in high school before having to read it again just a couple months later for class. I was supposed to read it again the following year for a college class but skated by on memory. And at that time, I figured I knew the book well enough, and it was what it was, which was pretty good.

Then, about a decade ago, I embarked on a reading of Joseph Frank’s abridged — definitely abridged — biography of Dostoevsky. I decided whenever Frank described the process behind a short story or novel, that I’d read that, too, even if I’d already done so. And so in 2015, I read “Crime and Punishment” a third time — and it felt completely different to me. I actually pondered skipping it because I’d already read it twice. But I gave it a try, and the furious pacing of the first 100 pages stood out in a way it hadn’t previously. The suspense can be claustrophobic, and I find it one of Dostoevsky’s most well-written novels. (That wasn’t necessarily his strength.) If it’s intimidating, give those first 100 pages a try and see where you’re at with it.

Trivia time

The best March/April batting average in Mets history is 1.000 (1-for-1). It’s by a player the Mets acquired — that’s right, acquired — at that year’s trade deadline. Who is it?

(I’ll reply to the correct answer in the comments.)

(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

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