Mets star ‘learned how to hit’ again in the offseason

Mets slugger Pete Alonso is due for a big offensive season in 2025.

After a disappointing 2024 season and then an even more discouraging free agency, Alonso has dedicated to actually “learn how to hit,” Mets co-hitting coach Eric Chavez told Will Sammon of The Athletic.

“It’s the best I’ve ever seen him. I’m very, very optimistic that Pete is going to have a monster year,” Chavez said. “I’m not trying to put pressure on him. But as good as he looks right now — and he’s going to maintain his routine — it’s going to be a pretty special year for him.”

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Last season was arguably Alonso’s worst offensive season. Though he never missed a game, he posted career lows (in a 162-game season) in home runs (34), RBIs (88), slugging percentage (.459) and OPS+ (23).

After poring through hours of tape, Alonso found he wasn’t using his hips properly in the batter’s box. He describes it to The Athletic as “shooting a cannon out of a canoe,” imbalanced and unable to generate maximum power.

“Think of a drag race car and how things go awry when they’re not on the track — so everything needs to be tight, locked in for everything to work together in the body," Alonso said, via The Athletic. “If I can maintain a good swing every single day, the only thing I have to worry about is timing.”

Chavez is confident that Alonso has solved his hitting problem. This spells good news for the Mets, who have $30 million guaranteed invested in him for this season, and another $24 million if he opts into a second year next season.

Alonso is 26 home runs shy of tying the franchise home run record (256), which is held by Darryl Strawberry. By the end of the season, barring injury, Alonso will be the all-time home run leader for the Mets.

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Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.