New York Mets notebook: 3 things to know as June 1 begins

May 14, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer (21) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer (21) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso celebrates with right fielder Starling Marte. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso celebrates with right fielder Starling Marte. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

New York Mets: Pete Alonso was a mixed bag in May

While Alonso continues to rip home runs and lead all of the Major League Baseball with 20 long balls, there are some other things to note about the numbers Alonso put up during the month of May.

In 105 at-bats during May, Alonso had a slash line of .219/.339/.543 while still gathering more hits in the month (23) than strikeouts (21). Compare that to a March/April slash line of .257/.328/.562 and there was a clear drop-off in average. However, Alonso was consistent with his power numbers, hitting 10 homers in May and 10 in March/April as well.

Overall, the Mets as a team slashed .250/.319/.412 in 29 May games so Alonso pulled down the average while boosting the on-base and slugging percentages. As our friends at Rising Apple said in this article, “Pete Alonso keeps driving in runs. Sure, his batting average couldn’t get a date to the prom this month. His ability to continue to create chaos on offense makes him arguably the most important player on the entire Mets roster.”

With Alonso, Mets fans will have to focus on that chaos and power rather than diving too deep into all of the numbers. The Polar Bear is a masher, and if the Mets ahead of him can get on base, perhaps that’s good enough this season.