Mets first baseman Pete Alonso broke the MLB record for home runs by a rookie, after hitting 53 homers this season.
His performance throughout the season has now earned him Baseball America's 2019 Rookie of the Year after a unanimous vote. It's the first award among many that Alonso will likely receive in his career.
He broke the Mets all-time single-season home run record -- originally held by both Todd Hundley and Carlos Beltran with 41 home runs. He passed the two former Mets with his 42nd home run on Aug. 27. Hundley had orginally set the record in 1996, while Beltran tied him in 2006.
"Oh, and the 24-year-old also infused the Mets' clubhouse with a sincere, caring spirit, mauled the club's record book, made the All-Star Game, won the Home Run Derby, showed the scouting community he had been underestimated, bolstered his defense at first base and became the "Polar Bear," SNY's Anthony McCarron wrote in his piece for Baseball America.
Alonso became a fan favorite throughout the season, after being ranked the No. 48 prospect in baseball at the beginning of the season. He finished the year leading the MLB in home runs, tied for third with 85 extra-base hits, and was fourth with 120 RBI.
His personality even attracted long-time Mets fan, Jerry Seinfeld. "Late in the year, Jerry Seinfeld, a rabid Mets fan, suggested on social media that he would revive "Seinfeld" if he could get Alonso to play a role like Keith Hernandez did in the famous two-part episode "The Boyfriend" from 1992," McCarron wrote.
"He seems to be the one everyone gravitates to," Mets scouting director Marc Tramuta said.
The Mets' 2016 second-round pick has a bright future ahead of him, and winning Baseball America's 2019 Rookie of the Year is just the beginning for him.