In Pete Alonso‘s first two at-bats of Spring Training, he hit a home run and a double. It seemed those two hits were the beginning of something special, and regardless of service time, Alonso was going to force his way onto the Opening Day roster.
After that double, Alonso cooled off a bit at the plate. He would go three for his next 12. With him not hitting tape measure shots, Dominic Smith would begin to grab some headlines.
Through his first seven games, Smith was actually out-hitting Alonso going 8-for-16 with a big three run homer. Mets Manager Mickey Callaway spoke glowingly about Smith. There were articles written about how Smith has turned the corner, and some were suggesting Smith had a real chance to win the Mets first base job.
Today, Alonso reminded everyone why he’s a top prospect and why people were excited about the possibility of his playing first base for the Mets this season:
Pete Alonso slammed his second home run of Spring Training earlier today in West Palm. #Mets pic.twitter.com/Pl133MKrLm
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) March 4, 2019
In today’s game, Alonso was 2-for-3 with a double, homer, and an RBI. As noted by MMO‘s Michael Mayer, Alonso’s OPS is now 1.356 putting him not too far ahead of Smith’s 1.256.
When David Lennon of Newday spoke to Alonso about the battle, Alonso said, “Both of us are trying to make a team, simple as that. I don’t want anyone to do bad. I like Dom. I think he’s a pretty cool guy.”
It’s also pretty cool both guys are battling this hard for the Mets first base job. If you are going to have a position battle in Spring Training, this is exactly what you want to see. Two young guys taking advantage of their opportunity and doing all they can do to prove themselves.
There are just a little over three weeks before the Mets open the season in Washington giving Smith and Alonso plenty of time to try to win this job. Hopefully, both players will continue to play hard, play well, and give the Mets a tough decision to make when it comes time to picking the Opening Day roster.
