First base has been a position in flux for the San Francisco Giants since the decline and eventual departure of Brandon Belt.
Even when Belt was the incumbent, the position known mostly for power never generated 30 or more home runs in a single season.
In fact, the Giants have not had any hitter knock 30 or more home runs in a single season since Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004.
20 seasons have come and gone, and not a single Major League batter has been able to reach that plateau with “San Francisco” emblazoned across their chest.
However, that could change as early as next year, as a recent report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has the club as one of the seven best fits to land slugging first baseman Pete Alonso.
Alonso made his Major League debut for the New York Mets on Opening Day of 2019 after being drafted by the club in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft.
The first baseman spent the first six years of his career in Queens, showing an ability to hit home runs with ease, and to suit up every day, playing in 846 of 870 games since his debut.
Alonso has batted .249/.339/.514 in his career with 226 home runs, 586 RBI, and a 134 OPS+ across 3,607 plate appearances, having three seasons of 40 or more home runs, and not reaching 30 or more home runs in only the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
“San Francisco has taken its shot at power hitters, including Judge and Shohei Ohtani,” writes Feinsand, “so perhaps Alonso could be the big bat the Giants have been looking for.”
And a big bat is indeed what they would be getting should they sign the Polar Bear, marking a drastic improvement over the production they received from the position in 2024.
A total of five men took at least one at-bat for San Francisco while playing first base in 2024, LaMonte Wade, Wilmer Flores, Mark Canha, David Villar, and Trenton Brooks.
Those five players combined to hit .239/.337/.362 with 14 home runs and 62 RBI, while their OPS of .699 ranked 21st in all of baseball for the position.
Alonso batted .240/.329/.459 with 34 home runs, 88 RBI, and his .788 OPS would rank sixth in all of baseball.
The slugger has had success at Oracle Park throughout his career, too, batting .250/.307/.603 with seven home runs and 21 RBI across 75 plate appearances in 17 games.
The fit is there for the Giants and Pete Alonso; we now must wait and see if the team will be successful in their pursuit of a slugger this time around.
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