NEW YORK — These NLCS blowouts create time for a mind to wander. And as I watched the New York Mets pull off yet another late-season stunner, a 12-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, an imaginary conversation between Mets owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns started ping-ponging around my head.
The subject: Mets free agent in waiting Pete Alonso, whose three-run homer in the first inning, on a 2-1 Jack Flaherty slider he practically scooped off the ground, was the first pivotal blow in pulling the Mets within three games to two.
“David, did you see that? I just saw Pete’s quotes. He said he was fooled on the pitch. Fooled! He hit it 113.6 mph! And he drove it 432 feet! To think, this could have been his last game at Citi Field. I don’t know, David, I don’t know.”
“Steve, I hear ya. Man, that was a moment. But let’s not forget why you hired me. I’m here to remove emotion from the equation. Even as the crowd’s chants of ‘Pete A-lon-so’ are still ringing in my ears!”
“David, you’re right. Let’s not forget, our fans seemed ready for us to move on from Pete toward the end of the regular season. Heck, they might have been ready again when he started this series 2-for-15. But that’s four homers in the postseason now, starting with his miracle three-run shot off Devin Williams that decided the wild-card series. I don’t know, David, I don’t know…”
“Steve! We still have more games to play, more data points to consider. Last I checked, you did not rank 39th on the Forbes 400, with a net worth of $21.3 billion, by making reckless decisions.”
“True enough, David, but the Mets are my passion. If we guarantee Pete $200 million instead of $150 million, that’s just one less Monet I’ll get to add to my personal art collection. What’s your definition of reckless, anyway?”
“Have you talked to Scott lately?”
“Boras? Ah, he calls all the time. Recently sent me a spreadsheet comparing Pete’s statistical profile to Lou Gehrig’s. Or maybe it was Jimmie Foxx’s. And said, ‘Steve, the Polar Bear is immune to climate change, immune to the pressure of New York, immune to immunity itself!’ Not sure exactly what that meant, but then he started talking about some of his other free-agent clients. Juan Soto. Corbin Burnes. Alex Bregman. Blake Snell . . .”
“Yes! Those are the guys we want! Well, some of them, anyway. Soto for sure. Steve, remember what I told you: Soto turns 26 on Friday. He’s almost four years younger than Pete. And a better hitter, of course.”
“David, why can’t we have both? And at least one of the pitchers, too? Max Scherzer is coming off the payroll. Justin Verlander is coming off the payroll. Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and José Quintana are likely heading to free agency, so they’ll be off the payroll, too. That’s right, Scott also mentioned Manaea. Another one of his clients, it seems.”
“We can have some of those guys and Pete, Steve. But we can’t do anything stupid, anything that will thwart our momentum. We’re not the LOLMets anymore. As much as I love Pete, he is who he is. A first baseman who will turn 30 in December. A guy who is limited athletically and defensively. And a guy who this season hit 34 homers — a good number, but his lowest total in a full season. Not a great trendline.
“David, we’re both watching the games. Pete is up to a .995 OPS in the postseason. What if he hits another big homer or two to get us past the Dodgers? And what if — I can’t believe I’m saying this — he helps us beat the Yankees in the World Series?!?! OK, I can see it now: Scott riding shotgun in Pete’s car at the parade. Beaming at all the fans wearing Alonso jerseys. Then telling reporters Pete would make a fine mayor.
“True, any leverage we had would evaporate, but lots of luck telling our fans we wouldn’t want a guy who loves being a Met, a guy who ranks second in the majors in games played since entering the league in 2019, a guy who told two reporters Friday night that he relishes playing in the postseason because it’s the purest form of the sport, a grown-up version of backyard baseball.”
“Well, Steve, how far do you want to go? Scott told ‘The Show’ podcast last November that he doesn’t think any of the recent contracts for first basemen — eight years, $180 million for Matt Olson, six years, $162 million for Freddie Freeman, five years, $130 million for Paul Goldschmidt — are relevant to Pete. He prefers to talk about two of his old free-agent contracts at the position — eight years, $180 million for Mark Teixeira in 2008, and nine years, $214 million for Prince Fielder in 2012.
“Sorry, but we’ve gotten smarter. The market for first basemen has changed. Seriously, Steve, do you think we should give Pete more than the Dodgers gave Freddie Freeman? Freeman was 32 when he got that deal, sure. But he’s a better hitter than Pete, a better defender, a future Hall of Famer! No other team would value Pete over Freeman. And we shouldn’t either.”
“Good argument, David. In a vacuum. We not operating in a vacuum. We’re in the entertainment business. We’re building a brand. Pete already is a big part of that brand, and if he starts hitting 40 home runs a year for the Houston Astros or whomever, our brand will suffer.
“My eyes are wide open. The last thing I want is to be perceived as an easy touch for Boras. But while a massive contract for Pete likely would turn out to be a bad deal, don’t most of them, anyway?
“Here’s the thing: The Mets drafted and developed Pete. If we keep him, he will make franchise history — he is 26 homers short of tying Darryl Strawberry as the Mets’ all-time home run leader. The power he showed on the Flaherty slider in Game 5? Only a few players in the game are capable of hitting that pitch over the wall. And power generally ages well: Pete does not figure to lose it anytime soon.”
“Wait, Steve, what is that I hear? Sounds like you’re getting a text on your other phone.”
“Yeah, it’s Scott, David.”
“What’s he saying?”
“Oh, just this: ‘Steve, terrific win today. The Polar Bear is in full roar. I look forward to connecting with you soon.’”
(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
