The Polar Bear extended a career-best hitting streak and launched his 30th homer of the season on Friday.
Pete Alonso has spent much of his first season with the Baltimore Orioles trying to build something that lasts beyond one good stretch at the plate.
Friday night, he provided another pretty convincing example that the work is starting to show.
Alonso hit his 30th home run of the season in the fifth inning of the Orioles’ 5-3 win over the Rays, sending a 111 mph drive 443 feet into the left-center-field seats. It was the longest home run of his season and gave Baltimore the lead after the Orioles had entered the inning trailing 3-2.
Two nights after his apparent 30th homer was ruled foul following a replay review, there was no question this one counted.
Alonso, however, wasn't particularly interested in making the milestone the story.
“Great, sure, awesome,” Alonso said postgame, via MASN. “But at the end of the day, I just want to win games.”
That answer has become fairly representative of how Alonso has approached his first season with the Orioles. The numbers have continued to pile up. His 13-game hitting streak is the longest of his career, and he is batting .480 with seven homers and 14 RBIs during that stretch. But doing whatever possible to help Baltimore win has remained Alonso's main focus.
Even the home run was part of a larger inning. Jackson Holliday tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Alonso followed with the go-ahead blast. Earlier in the game, Alonso had also driven in the game's opening run with a first-inning single.
Manager Craig Albernaz told reporters postgame that Alonso’s preparation has been as impressive as the production.
“It’s impressive watching him day in and day out just with his prep and just as the teammate and person he is,” Albernaz said, via MASN.
Alonso believes that preparation is beginning to pay off because he has stayed committed to it long enough to see the results.
He said he developed a more consistent routine and set of systems during 2025, from drills and activations to studying opposing pitching. The challenge, he explained, was trusting those habits during the stretches when the results weren't immediately there.
“It’s a war of attrition,” Alonso said. “It takes a long time to have a good season, and sometimes you don’t see the fruits of your labor right away.”
That patience has helped Alonso settle into Baltimore both on and off the field. He said teammates, coaches, trainers and other members of the organization made the transition feel like home almost immediately. This is also his first full season balancing the demands of being a full-time major leaguer and a first-time father.
The adjustment, Alonso said, was largely about finding the right cadence. Now that he feels comfortable with the routine, the results have followed.
There is another part of his game that fits that same approach.
Alonso has embraced the less glamorous parts of playing first base, including diving for a ground ball in the sixth inning to prevent an extra-base hit. He said afterward that there was no alternative in the moment.
“I don’t care how it looks,” Alonso said. “I just want to play hard, play winning baseball.”
That mindset may explain why Alonso's 30th homer felt like just another part of his first season in Baltimore rather than a finish line.
The milestone was worth celebrating. Alonso simply seems more interested in what comes next.
