The Mets' Pete Alonso shines in April and the contest for the best player of the season in the National League is at the top of the list

Pete Alonso — the first baseman who has been unsure whether he'll continue to wear the Mets all the offseason — helped his team to a 4-3 overtime win over the Phillies at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon. In the bottom half of the 10th inning, he hit a right-sided midfielder second base to equalize the score, and then ran back to the winning point with a goodbye hit from Starling Marte to help the Mets win seven straight and top the league record.

There are many factors behind the Mets' best home start in franchise history (12-1), but the most important one is the strong play of the nicknamed "Polar Bear". Had it not been for the presence of the Yankees' Aaron Judge, Alonso would have had New York City's brightest April performance.

Juan Soto, who played with Judge in the centre and is now Alonso's former striker, is not yet fully in shape, while Francisco Lindor has been doing well in front of Soto. But Alonso is the Mets' deadliest hitter so far this season: his batting average rose to 0.341 after the win against the Phillies and led the team in all major stats and sent the team to Washington with a 7-0 home series record against the Nationals.

In his post-match interview on Wednesday, Alonso spoke about the integration of remaining players and new signings in last year's Nations League Champions squad: "It feels like we've been working together for years. But what really drove the Mets to get off to such a start was the player who wasn't sure if his career would continue in the offseason. Judge leads the league with a slurs average, 7 hits, 26 RBIs, and 1.247 attack index, but it still can't completely overshadow Alonso's brilliance.

Alonso currently has a batting average of 0.341, 6 hits, and is tied with Judge with 26 RBIs, with an attack index of 1.121 and a long batting average of 0.681. Since landing in the major leagues in 2019 (when he beat Judge's 52-rookie record set two years earlier with 53 hits), Judge has amassed 239 regular-season home runs and Alonso 232 — a value that has been shown despite more games. Alonso has missed just 24 games in the past six seasons and has been in full attendance this season. "Who wants to miss the pomp and circumstance of the metropolis right now? He laughed.

'There are a lot of last year's veterans here,' Alonso said on Wednesday. Team owner Steve Cohen and coach Carlos Mendoza are pleased to keep the Tampa-born first baseman. Speaking about the free market during spring training, Alonso said: "I believe that fate has its own arrangements and will eventually reach its rightful place. "

At the moment, he was in the position of destiny - wearing the Mets to guard first base, behind Lindor and Soto. When the team needed a crucial shot to finish the home series, Alonso hit a second-run in the opposite direction against Jordan Romano, reminiscent of last October's third-inning wild card game against Brewers finisher Devin Williams.

After a lengthy offseason when Hurricane Helena invaded a home in Tampa, Alonso signed a two-year contract with a 2026 player option. Cohen is betting on the most popular home-grown star since David Wright, while Alonso has repaid the trust with an all-encompassing performance in attack and defence. "It's nice to have him," Mendoza said Wednesday.

There is no shortage of eye-catching players in the National League, but no one has surpassed the "Polar Bears" in value since the start of the season. He returned to where he belonged, where he belonged.