Mets legend compares own experience to Pete Alonso saga

New York Mets legend Darryl Strawberry believes the conversations that Pete Alonso will have about his playing future will differ from what he experienced before he left the club as a free agent after the 1990 season. 

"The opportunity to stay in New York will be open to him," Strawberry said about Alonso while spending a portion of Tuesday with the Mets at spring training, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. "The opportunity was not there for me. I think the front office and people here do like [Alonso] and if you have a big year now they have got to open up their hands to you. … When I got to that point they told me I had to have a big season. I had a big season and then we didn’t talk." 

Strawberry has previously mentioned that he wished he "would have been able to come to some type of terms" regarding a contract before he played in what became a walk year with the Mets. He later campaigned for the club to "keep your homegrown talent" like Alonso, who has featured only for the Amazins since he made his MLB debut in 2019. 

There remains no sign that Alonso will put pen to paper on any deal ahead of Opening Day or before he reaches free agency this fall. While the Mets re-signed outfielder Brandon Nimmo and closer Edwin Diaz after they hit the open market following the 2022 campaign, that was before David Stearns officially began serving as the club's president of baseball operations in October. 

It's unclear how Stearns truly feels about inking a long-term contract with a first baseman who turns 30 years old this coming December and who finished the 2023 season with a .217 batting average and a .318 on-base percentage. According to Puma, Alonso said on Tuesday that "minimizing chase is" his No. 1 priority as it pertains to hopefully improving such numbers this year. 

Meanwhile, Strawberry added he didn't have a specific message for Mets players during his visit to Port St. Lucie. 

"I wore this uniform for a long time and had great success with this uniform," he said. "It’s fun to come down here and see the guys." 

Perhaps Strawberry will somewhat quietly speak with Alonso behind the scenes about what the "Polar Bear" wants for the opening half of his 30s.