How Pete Alonso took his game planning to a new level: ‘Knowledge is power'

New York Times

2 days ago

DENVER — Behind Pete Alonso's impressive offensive numbers this season is a serious improvement in game planning.
'He has taken that to the next level,' New York Mets co-hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said.
That is because Alonso arrives at the ballpark more prepared than ever.
For the first time in his seven-year career, Alonso is using external help to assist him with research, digest data and create personal plans against pitchers. The information comes from people affiliated with his agent, Scott Boras, and from people at his Tampa-based workout group, Diesel Optimization, among others. He explained it as something like a front office just for him.
Alonso's ability to take information from a variety of sources speaks to his adaptiveness and growing intellect about his offensive game.
PETE CAN'T STOP!
ALL-STAR 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJro0F pic.twitter.com/Vy5ayQgc2N
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 8, 2025
It's up to him to put what he learns into practice. And he continues to do just that in what's shaping up as his best season to date.
In the Mets' 13-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Alonso went 3-for-6 with a pair of two-run home runs. He passed David Wright for second on the Mets' all-time list with 243 home runs. Only Darryl Strawberry (252) has hit more wearing a Mets uniform.
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'I'm just trying to look at everything I possibly can in-depth,' Alonso told The Athletic while discussing his new study sessions. 'And not just look at it. But really try to think and apply.
'It's not like an idea — I have a great picture. Every day, the whole thing is, I'm going to paint a picture of what it is going to look like coming at the plate.'
While many players enlist the help of personal hitting or swing coaches, it is less common for a position player to consult with people outside the club for game planning purposes. It does happen, however.
Every day before he leaves for the ballpark, Alonso goes over how pitchers may plan to attack him and what to look for in certain counts and situations. This work supplements the preparation Alonso does with the Mets. As a team, the Mets hold a daily hitters' meeting to go over approaches for that day's starting pitcher and other topics.
'It's big time,' Alonso said. 'It's been a tremendous help. Knowledge is power.'
Alonso's terrific numbers (17 home runs, .301/.396/.594 slash line) through the Mets' first 66 games are a culmination of a few major improvements, including the heightened focus on game planning. As The Athletic previously detailed, Alonso wanted a better understanding of his inconsistencies in 2023 and 2024. That desire led to a deep dive into mechanics. Put simply, he is now in a better position to hit and discern what pitches he should swing at and which he should leave alone.
'He's as complete a hitter right now as I've ever seen him,' Barnes said.
Hitting the books comes first, though.
'He's done his homework well before we've pumped out any information that we need to pump out,' Barnes said. 'To me, it's just him taking ownership in it a little bit more.
'He realizes how important it is. Before, he knew it was important, but he didn't have his identity. He didn't figure out how he wanted to do it. He's figured out what he needs to do now.'
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Alonso is willing to pass along what he learns, too. He is vocal in the Mets' hitters' meetings. In the past, he always spoke up. But now, he is armed with sharper insight.
'This isn't a knock on Pete of the past, but when he speaks up, I find myself thinking, 'Wow. That's good. That's good information,'' Barnes said. 'Whereas before, he would say something, and you'd just laugh and say, well, that's Pete; sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. But he's on point this year. The lens that he is viewing the game through right now is high quality.'
Over the weekend, the Rockies changed their probable starters a couple of times on short notice. Despite that, Alonso still managed to share a couple of pointers regarding the unexpected starters.
'Just from a veteran aspect, let's say even if I haven't faced a guy before, I can provide maybe a little bit of a nugget of information here and there,' Alonso said. 'For example, if I struggled that day or whatever, if I provide that information, maybe it helps somebody else. Before, it was like, OK, I can only really give little tidbits and things like that on guys I've faced before. Now, it's different.'
Alonso's teammates see and hear the difference, too. Brandon Nimmo said he has spotted Alonso on plane rides watching extra video. Nimmo likened Alonso's prep work to a teacher working toward obtaining a master's degree.
'Even just outside of the planning that way we do, he has invested in himself and gotten outside help as well, and that's great,' Nimmo said. 'It's definitely a change. It's definitely made a difference. I don't know how much because he's worked on so many different things, but (it's delivering) the result you're seeing. He has really buckled down, and it's paying off.'
Alonso, who can opt out and become a free agent after the season, may end up cashing in this offseason with a larger deal than the two-year, $54 million pact he signed to stick with the Mets just before spring training.
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His ability to minimize a recent slump jumps out as another indicator of how different he is in 2025. Over a 15-game stretch from May 6 to May 23, he went 9-for-59 (.153 batting average) with 25 strikeouts and just four walks. In recent years, he was susceptible to prolonged cold streaks. Not now. Over his last 15 games, Alonso is 21-for-58 (.362 batting average) with eight home runs. The extra pre-game work comes in handy especially when diagnosing what pitchers are doing to him and how to combat their plan.
'It's trusting it, trusting that everything in the preparation is going to show up,' Alonso said. 'Mike Tyson said it. 'Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.' But in baseball, it's having that confidence, that assurance it will show up sometime in the game. Sometimes you have to weather it a little bit and stick with it, but I am trying to stay as diligent as possible. I just want to keep finding new levels to help me perform.'
(Photo of Pete Alonso: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)