It is very premature to say that someone would be a Hall of Famer after five seasons. Injuries happen, robbing players of their ability. Sometimes, players just suddenly stop being productive, falling off of a cliff for any number of reasons. However, that does not mean that it is not fun to speculate, as is the case with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso.
Alonso put himself into rarified air on Wednesday by belting his 35th homer of the season. In doing so, he became the fourth player in MLB history to hit at least 35 homers in four of his first five seasons. The other players on the list – Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews, and Albert Pujols – are either in the Hall of Fame or will be once eligible.
New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso on early Hall of Fame path
Alonso has already staked a claim as one of the great sluggers of his time. He holds the rookie record with 53 homers in 2019, winning the Rookie of the Year award and making the All Star Game. He has continued to hit homers at a prodigious pace, eclipsing the 35 home run mark in each of the past three seasons. Alonso has also won the Home Run Derby twice, making more money in the grand prize than he had in either season for the Mets.
The 2020 pandemic may be the only thing that can slow Alonso down at this point. That has been the only time in his major league career when he failed to hit 35 homers; he belted 16 over the 60 game season that year. Had he continued that pace for a full season, Alonso would have hit approximately 43 homers.
Alonso has a long way to go. He is just 28 years old and entering the prime of his career. However, if he is able to put together another five to seven years at the level he has already been playing at, it is possible that he joins that impressive trio in Cooperstown. He is certainly on the right path at this point in his career.
Pete Alonso joined a select group of sluggers with his 35th homer on Wednesday. The New York Mets star could be on a Hall of Fame path.
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