This week’s three-game series with the Padres will feature the top candidates for NL rookie of the year honors, with Padres Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack looking to contend with Mets’ Pete Alonso.
But to Mickey Callaway, the only thing to consider is Alonso’s numbers.
“He’s in first in everything. I think that’ll work [for his rookie of the year case], if he just sits right where he is,” Callaway said before Tuesday’s first game of the series at Citi Field. “I get to see Pete every day, it’s not just the numbers he’s putting up, it’s the intangibles that he brings to our team. It’s leadership at a very young age. He’s a young leader in our clubhouse.”
Alonso has been part of the rookie of the year conversation for a majority of the season, putting on a consistent show for 98 games. To Mets pitcher Steven Matz, it’s even more impressive considering there was speculation in spring training whether he would even make the final roster.
“He brings a great energy to the team, he’s positive,” Matz said. “He never really backs down, he’s constantly going out there and playing all nine innings. He works hard.”
The battle between Alonso and Paddack, who was on the mound Tuesday night, has been a point of interest since the Mets’ first series of the season with the Padres in San Diego. Paddack, who said he was coming after Alonso, struck out the Mets first baseman, the reigning NL rookie of the month at the time, twice in three at-bats. Later in the series, Alonso hit a game-winning home run in the ninth inning and cameras caught Paddack fuming in the San Diego dugout.
Since that series, Tatis, who didn’t play in that series, has entered into the equation. Tatis has quickly gained momentum since returning to the Padres lineup after a hamstring injury that sidelined him for all of May and the first few days of June. He has been a vital part of his team’s fight for a wild-card spot, posting a .324 batting average with 16 homers and 14 infield singles to join Jose Altuve, Javier Baez and Yasiel Puig as the only players with at least 14 of each this season.
“Tatis learns quicker than other guys. He adjusts faster than other guys adjust,” Padres pitcher Cal Quantrill said. “That’s why he’s hitting .320 and he’s 20 years old. He makes a difference each game because he doesn’t make the same mistakes over and over again. That’s the highest compliment you can give an athlete.”
To Quantrill, the most important quality of a good teammate is someone who puts in the work and does it well. And he believes both Paddack and Tatis embody that philosophy.
Tatis, whose father, Fernando, played for the Mets from 2008-10, has respect for Alonso.
“He’s a great player. He’s a great hitter and he has shown a lot,” said Tatis, who said he watched Alonso’s performance in the Home Run Derby. “I think he already deserves it, but the season is not over. We’re just going to keep pushing and whoever is best is going to win. But he has done a great job.”
Quantrill said he expects the series to be just as intense as the team’s first meeting of the season when the Padres took two of three games at petco Park, especially with Tatis added to the competition. And with the Mets sitting nine games below .500 as play began Tuesday, rooting for Alonso’s success has been a go-to coping mechanism for Mets fans.
“I’m always going to be biased toward Pete, for all of those reasons because I get to see the things that nobody else sees,” Callaway said. “But I think the numbers in the end speak for themselves and Pete’s dominating in every way.”
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