Well, that couldn’t have gone much worse. Pete Alonso, the betting favorite to win his third Home Run Derby, hit just 12 home runs and was the first player eliminated.
What makes Alonso’s performance so much worse is that his appearance in the Derby is the only justifiable reason that he was named an NL All-Star. Alonso had said he would only participate in the Home Run Derby if he was an All-Star. This certainly is not what MLB had envisioned. In fact, if MLB knew Alonso would put up this kind of performance, there’s a good chance they would’ve just chosen someone else to participate in the derby and give his All-Star spot to another New York Mets player.
While Alonso hasn’t been bad for the Mets this season, he hasn’t been the Alonso we’re accustomed to. He has been outperformed by several teammates, notably Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, Unfortunately, Lindor and Nimmo are stuck watching at home while Alonso, the lone Mets representative, is in Arlington, Texas.
Alonso has had a decent season, slashing .240/.319/.454 with 19 home runs and 51 RBI in the first half of the season. Obviously good numbers, but he hasn’t been the prolific run producer we’ve seen in years past. Lindor and Nimmo on the other hand, have put together strong seasons after slow starts.
Lindor ranks seventh in the majors with 4.2 fWAR. That mark is tied for third with Bryce Harper in the National League. He’s been elite as always defensively, and he has posted a .911 OPS in 51 games since being moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup permanently. He has hit 26 doubles and 17 home runs while stealing 18 bases this season. Somehow, Lindor hasn’t been an All-Star as a Met, but there’s a strong chance he’ll finish in the top 10 in the NL in the MVP balloting.
Lindor has a strong case, but he has two things working against him. One, he had a brutal start to his season. Two, the NL is full of good shortstops. The big Mets snub was Brandon Nimmo who not only should’ve made the team, but an argument could be made that he should’ve been a starter.
Nimmo leads all NL outfielders in RBI. He’s tied for second with 3.0 fWAR. He’s tied for fourth in home runs. He’s fourth in OBP. Fourth in WRC+. I can go on, but won’t. He has been one of, if not the best NL outfielder this season, yet somehow, he did not make the team.
From MLB’s perspective, it made sense to do whatever they could to get Alonso to the Derby, especially with some of the big stars like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani not participating. With that being said, it was abundantly clear that Alonso should not have been an All-Star to begin with, and now, after that kind of performance, snubbing Nimmo and Lindor looks that much worse.
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Publish date : 2024-07-15 23:49:18
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