Pete Alonso’s first summer in Baltimore ended with the kind of line that belongs in the franchise record book and the larger baseball ledger: 43 home runs, 113 RBIs and an American League home run crown. Yet with the Orioles finishing 79-82 and missing October for a second straight year, Alonso was not interested in treating the individual hardware as the final word.
The 31-year-old first baseman became the first player in Major League history to lead each league in RBIs in separate seasons. He drove in 131 runs for the Mets to pace the National League in 2022, then took the American League title in his first Orioles season. RBIs have been tracked as an official statistic since 1920, and no player had previously pulled off that two-league distinction.
There was no late-season pileup at the top of the AL leaderboard, either. Alonso’s 113 RBIs left him seven clear of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who finished with 106. Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero was the only other American Leaguer to reach triple digits, with 101.
Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million contract with Baltimore in December and answered the everyday part of the assignment from the start. He appeared in all 161 games the Orioles played; the scheduled regular-season finale against the Yankees was washed out. It marked a third consecutive season in which Alonso played every game on his club’s schedule.
His power was just as steady. Alonso’s 43 homers edged both Alvarez and Caminero, who each hit 42. He also posted a .267 average, 24 doubles and an .885 OPS. By leading both leagues in home runs during his career, he joined Shohei Ohtani, Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Sam Crawford and Buck Freeman as the only players to claim a homer title in each circuit.
More than a middle-of-the-order bat
For Baltimore’s clubhouse, Alonso’s impact went beyond the noise of another ball disappearing over the fence. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson said the production became almost absurd to watch over the course of the season.
“His year has been unbelievable,” Henderson said. “You laugh whenever he hits one now. It’s cool to see, fun to be part of, and fun to share a team with him. He has been great to have around, and I’m excited about playing alongside him for many years.”
Left-hander Trevor Rogers saw the daily routine behind the numbers and said Alonso’s professionalism stood out as much as the power. Rogers said Alonso “could easily wind up a Hall of Famer” and called it special to witness the way he handled his work every day.
Alonso, though, measured the year against the Orioles’ unfinished business. Baltimore did not reach the postseason, and the new slugger made clear that his attention is already on helping change that outcome next season and pushing deeper into October.
“I want to put everything out there,” Alonso said. “I love playing this game. I want to be the best version of myself and do everything I can each night to help win. Winning matters a lot to me, and I take pride in giving everything I have.”
