Mets' Pete Alonso Captures Second-Straight Home Run Derby Crown
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was crowned king of the Home Run Derby once again.
“For me, I think I’m the best power hitter on the planet,” Alonso said alongside his trophy, while wearing a championship medallion in his post Derby press conference. “And being able to showcase that and really put on a fun display for fans, I just think that it’s truly a dream come true for me. Because when I was younger, my parents actually let me stay up past my bedtime to watch this.”
Alonso, the Reigning Derby champion captured his second-straight long ball title at Coors Field on Monday night.
With Mets bench coach Dave Jauss pitching to him, Alonso set a single-round record with 35 home runs in the opening round of the Home Run Derby.
“Jaussy was putting them right in the bread basket,” said Alonso.
While most believed the final round would see Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani in it, the AL MVP favorite was eliminated in a swing-off in the first round by Juan Soto.
Facing off against his NL East division rival in Soto, who slugged 15 homers, Alonso knocked him out with time to spare behind 16 big flies in round two.
This setup the final round between Alonso and Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini. Although Mancini smacked 22 homers, Alonso came back to slug 17 of his own in regulation.
However, Alonso capitalized during bonus time to walk it off with six more homers to top Mancini 23-22.
Alonso hit a total of 74 homers in the derby to once again earn the crown as Home Run Derby champ.
“There was no point where I thought I was going to lose, ever," he said.
