The last time Pete Alonso played in the postseason was in 2024, when his former team, the New York Mets, reached the NLCS. After the Mets missed the postseason last year due to a late-season free fall, Alonso left the franchise as a free agent. The Polar Bear became the Baltimore Orioles’ new first baseman after agreeing to a five-year, $155 million contract. However, the Orioles’ season ended in disappointment as the team failed to secure a postseason berth, but Alonso did not move to Baltimore to miss October baseball, and he made that clear in a pregame interview.
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“I mean, truth be told, there have been some great moments, but that’s not the expectation. As a club, we failed to perform and do what we were supposed to do,” said Pete Alonso, per Orioles on MASN. “For me, we had great moments, great individual performances, but as a whole, that’s not the standard here, and that’s unacceptable for us.”
The Orioles finished fourth in the AL East with a 79-82 record. With their regular-season finale against the New York Yankees canceled due to rain, the Orioles remained 4.5 games out of the third AL Wild Card spot. The Orioles last played October baseball in 2024, when they entered the Wild Card Series and lost 2-0 to the Kansas City Royals. Alonso is eager to change that next season, and for that, the Orioles need to step up collectively as a team.
“The standard for us is to not only make the postseason, but make a run and have a legitimate shot to hold up a trophy at the end of the year. We didn’t even give ourselves an opportunity to enter the dance in October,” Alonso said, per Orioles on MASN. “So next year, whatever needs to happen, we need to do a better job as players, because that’s what it boils down to.”
Though the Orioles rank high in batting average as a team this season, their OPS, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage all rank towards the bottom of the league. As a team, the Orioles rank 27th in hits.
Alonso individually recorded a successful season. As a first-year Oriole, Alonso hit 43 homers and 113 RBIs. He leads the American League in home runs. Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero trail him by one homer.
Alonso became the Mets’ all-time home run leader in 2025 by surpassing Daryl Strawberry. This year, he etched his name in the Orioles’ franchise history as well. He recorded the most homers by an Oriole since Mark Trumbo slugged 47 in 2016. Alonso has hit 307 home runs in his career.
With 113 RBIs, Alonso won the American League RBI title this season. Only Alec Burleson of the St. Louis Cardinals has a higher RBI total than Alonso in 2026. After winning the AL RBI title, Alonso became the only player in MLB to win the RBI title in both leagues. He led the NL in RBIs in 2022.
“It’s impressive,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz reportedly said about Alonso. “It’s not only the at-bat quality and the pitches he’s getting, [but] he’s not missing them. He’s squaring them up pretty good.”
Furthermore, Alonso has also been in top shape. He was ready to play the 162nd game of the season against the Yankees on Sunday. Alonso did not miss a single game for the last two seasons and was ready to achieve it again this year, but New York’s inclement weather got in the way.
However, there is a glaring performance gap between Alonso and his teammates. Gunnar Henderson’s 24-home-run season is the closest to Alonso’s 43. The vast difference displays the biggest shortcoming of the Orioles as a team. They cannot depend on Alonso alone to reach the postseason. The star first baseman’s arrival has exposed exactly what the Orioles need to fix before 2027 as they head into the offseason.