New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso hit his 40th home run of the season on Sunday to set the National League rookie record for home runs in a season.
Alonso homered to left field in the ninth inning. The 418-foot blast off the Kansas City Royals‘ Jacob Barnes broke a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Cody Bellinger for most home runs by a NL rookie in a season.
Bellinger hit 39 home runs in 2017.
“It’s crazy,” Alonso said after the Mets’ 11-5 victory when asked about setting the record. “I just gotta go back to the days of spring training when I didn’t know if I was gonna make the team out of camp or not. I’m just extremely thankful for this opportunity, and this has been such an incredible year. I just wanna keep building and help this team win.”
Alonso is the first Mets player to hit 40 home runs since Carlos Beltran in 2006.
With the home run, Alonso improved to 3-for-4 in the Mets’ victory over the Royals, with three runs and two RBIs.
The victory pulled the Mets (64-60) into a three-way tie in the NL wild-card chase, 1½ games behind the Chicago Cubs, who hold the second wild-card spot.
The New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge holds the major league record for home runs in a season by a rookie, with 52 in 2017.