At 61-homer pace, why I’m lukewarm on another New York slugger, lower WAR than Kim Ha-Sung

Can a 60-homer hitter repeat last year’s feat this season?토토사이트

The challenger is Pete Alonso, a right-handed slugger for the New York Mets of the National League (NL). Alonso is on pace for a 60-homer season and leads the league in that category.

Alonso hit his 20th home run of the season on Aug. 28 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. Alonso, who became the first 20-homer hitter this year, has a three-game lead over second-place Miami Marlins Jorge Soler.

Soler arched his homer against the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the day, extending his streak to five games. Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers is third with 16 home runs.

In the American League (AL) home run race, the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Texas Rangers’ Adolis Garcia are tied for first with 14. The NL leads the league in home runs this year.

Trailing 6-0 with one out in the top of the fourth inning, Alonso pulled a 94.2 mph five-pitch fastball from Colorado starter Chase Anderson over the left-center field fence. With a 22-degree launch angle, 105.1 mph bat speed and 415 feet of travel, it flew like a clothesline and lodged in the left-center field seats.

Alonso went 2-for-5 with the home run, one RBI and one run scored. But the Mets lost the batting battle, 7-10. They took a 7-5 lead after starter Justin Verlander was knocked around for six runs on nine hits in five innings, but relievers Jeff Brigham and Drew Smith gave up back-to-back two-run homers in the seventh and eighth innings. Alonso’s home run was overshadowed.

However, Alonso’s May home run total is on a steep climb. He has seven homers in his last 11 games.

With the Mets playing 53 games, Alonso is on pace to hit 61 homers this year. That would be a career-high and the first 60-homer season in the NL in 22 years since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa did it in 2001. He would also become the NL’s first 60-homer hitter with a clean record that wasn’t aided by steroids.

Last year, Judge topped 20 homers in each of his team’s 52 games and ended up with an AL single-season high of 62. Alonso is just one game behind.

But while Alonso’s home run pace is hot, the response has been lukewarm. That’s because his overall performance has been weak. As of today, Alonso is batting .239 (47-for-197) with 46 RBI, 37 runs scored, and an OPS of .897. In addition to home runs, he also leads the NL in RBIs.

However, his batting average is 62nd out of 85 players in the NL with at least one plate appearance, and his on-base percentage (.339) is 41st. His WAR is just 1.8. In terms of WAR, he’s not even close to the San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim (2.0).

For a big man, he strikes out a lot and has a low walk rate. While he’s strong in home runs and RBI, he doesn’t strike fear into opposing pitchers like Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves), Juan Soto (San Diego), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals), and Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers).

This is especially true for Acuna Jr. who is on pace for 11 homers and 22 doubles and is on pace for 40 homers and 40 doubles, making him the No. 1 candidate for NL MVP.

Alonso hit 40 homers and 131 RBIs last year and still finished eighth in the NL in MVP voting. His home run and RBI numbers are good, but they’re not impactful enough.