PETE ALONSO

FOX Sports' Ben Verlander tiers over two dozen first basemen to begin his series highlighting the best MLB players at every position.

A total of 170 major league players agreed to contracts in the hours before Friday night’s arbitration deadline to exchange proposed salaries with teams, and just one reached a multiyear deal: Minnesota right-hander Chris Paddack.

Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached big-money agreements on one-year contracts as 170 players avoided salary arbitration with deals and 33 exchanged proposed figures with their teams.

New AL home run king Aaron Judge and St. Louis slugger Paul Goldschmidt have won Hank Aaron Awards that reward the most outstanding offensive performers in each league.

Baseball’s biggest spenders looked spent.

Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!”.

Pete Alonso launched a tiebreaking homer and Jacob deGrom pitched well enough to help save the New York Mets’ season with a 7-3 victory over the San Diego Padres that evened their wild-card playoff series at one game apiece.

The New York Mets find themselves on the verge of getting aced out.

Josh Bell and Manny Machado smashed two of San Diego’s four home runs off Max Scherzer, and the Padres romped past the New York Mets 7-1 in their playoff opener.

For two teams that finished second fiddle in their divisions, the Padres and Mets bring an awful lot of star power into the playoffs.

Minnesota’s Luis Arraez finished with the lowest average for an American League batting champion since 1968, and the Mets’ Jeff McNeil won the National League title.

Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson homered off Max Scherzer, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a crucial 4-2 victory over the New York Mets and a one-game lead in the NL East.

Two months into the season, it looked like the New York Mets were headed for an NL East runaway.

Eduardo Escobar homered and drove in five late runs — including the game-winning single in the 10th inning — to rally the New York Mets past the Miami Marlins 5-4 and back into sole possession of first place in the NL East.

Pete Alonso homered, doubled and drove in five runs to set the team record for RBIs, Max Scherzer pitched six sharp innings and the New York Mets routed the Oakland Athletics 13-4 Sunday to hold their NL East lead. The Mets remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Atlanta. New York has won eight of 10, and plays the Braves on the road next weekend in a three-game series.

Chris Bassitt pitched eight sharp innings in his return to Oakland, Eduardo Escobar hit a grand slam and the New York Mets extended their lead in the NL East by beating the Athletics 9-2.

Max Scherzer was pulled from his 200th win with a perfect game intact, and the New York Mets clinched their first playoff berth in six years by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2.

Jacob deGrom struck out 13 batters — the most ever for a Mets pitcher who threw five or fewer innings — but didn’t factor into the decision.

Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run of the season but Shohei Ohtani also went deep during their MVP showdown, and the Los Angeles Angels held off the slumping New York Yankees 4-3.

Aaron Judge has hit his 50th home run of the season, connecting in the eighth inning for the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Angels.

Aaron Judge hit a 453-foot drive halfway up the bleachers for his 48th home run and added an RBI single during a seventh-inning rally, boosting the Yankees past the Mets 4-2 for a two-game sweep in a Subway Series both teams hope was a World Series prelude.

Aaron Judge connected off Max Scherzer for his major league-leading 47th home run, Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs and the New York Yankees withstood a botched popup by rookie Oswaldo Cabrera to beat the Mets 4-2 for their first Subway Series win this season.

Pete Alonso reached 30 homers and 100 RBIs on the season to lead the New York Mets to a 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Brett Baty homered his first time up in the big leagues, Starling Marte went deep twice and the New York Mets held off the Braves 9-7 to snap Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak.

Jacob deGrom struck out 10 in six dominant innings and Edwin Díaz earned his 200th career save, helping the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0.

Jacob deGrom struck out 12 and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning of his second start all season, pitching the New York Mets past the Atlanta Braves 5-2 for their 12th victory in 14 games.

Max Scherzer tied a season high with 11 strikeouts over seven innings and the New York Mets beat the sloppy Atlanta Braves 6-2 to complete a doubleheader sweep.

Houston ace Justin Verlander, who leads the major leagues in wins, takes a 13-3 record and 1.86 ERA into his start Friday against visiting Seattle.

Starling Marte singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 3-2 for a two-game sweep of their Subway Series.

Eduardo Escobar hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer that capped a four-run, first-inning rally, and the New York Mets beat the Yankees 6-3 in a rare Subway Series matchup of first-place teams.

Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso swing away as the Subway Series starts up at Citi Field on Tuesday night with both New York teams in first place.

Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off Joe Musgrove and had four RBIs to retake the major league lead, leading the New York Mets over the San Diego Padres 8-5.

So let’s say the All-Star Game is tied 3-all after nine innings.

Washington’s Juan Soto advanced to the final with a 16-15 victory over St. Louis slugger and sentimental favorite Albert Pujols.

A lot of baseball fans are likely to be rooting for the All-Star Game to be tied after nine innings on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Pete Alonso, Albert Pujols and Kyle Schwarber tee off in the All-Star Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium, where fans see how far and fast the sluggers can launch longballs into the Los Angeles twilight.

Max Scherzer misses hitting.

Red Sox lefty Chris Sale is set to make his season debut when he starts against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings, Luis Guillorme homered and drove in two runs, and the New York Mets beat Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in the opening game of their National League East showdown.

Mets slugger Pete Alonso will try to become the first player to win the All-Star Home Run Derby three consecutive times against a field that will also include the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols, the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and Washington's Juan Soto.

Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani repeated as a two-way All-Star when he was picked for the AL pitching staff, two days after he was elected to start at designated hitter.

Washington star Juan Soto is being checked out after exiting a game early because of an injured left calf.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were elected Thursday to start in the July 20 All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium.

Rookie Nick Fortes hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 3-2.

Francisco Lindor homered after being surprised by his mom’s first visit to see him at Citi Field, Pete Alonso slugged a grand slam during an eventful sixth inning and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 10-4.

Nationals star Stephen Strasburg is set to pitch in the majors for the first time since June 1, 2021, when he starts against the Marlins in Miami on Thursdaay night.

Free falling toward a dreadful bit of team history, the Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday and appointed third base coach Phil Nevin to the role on an interim basis.

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso is out of the game at San Diego after getting hit by a pitch and falling awkwardly leading off the second inning.

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Tyler Anderson extended his scoreless streak to 26 innings and became the first National League pitcher with seven wins as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 6-1.

Paul Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Corey Dickerson went deep twice, and the St. Louis Cardinals pounded the Chicago Cubs 14-5.

Tony Gonsolin pitched two-hit ball over six sharp innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets 2-0.

Pete Alonso had Francisco Lindor's back. It's no stretch to say Alonso earned the souvenir. Lindor lined a walk-off single in the 10th after a big reach by Alonso bailed him out in the top of the inning, and the New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 Tuesday to open a doubleheader.

Patience is often rewarded for both free agents and general managers during most Major League Baseball offseasons. As expected, free agents are flying off the market and trades are getting done at a breakneck pace following MLB's 99-day lockout that froze the league's transactions for more than three months. “It’s like drinking out of a firehose,” said Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations for the Dodgers.

Alonso said the accident will not impact his ability to play, and told reporters that he's "just really thankful to be alive."

Luis Rojas was let go as manager of the New York Mets on Monday after two losing seasons. The team declined its option on Rojas’ contract for 2022, making the announcement a day after finishing third in the NL East at 77-85 in Steve Cohen’s first year of ownership. “I want to share such heartfelt gratitude to so many in the Mets organization for not only the last two seasons as manager, but for the last 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said in a statement released by the team.

Mets slugger Pete Alonso visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Tuesday to donate the custom cleats and baseball bat honoring first responders that he used in a game on the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. "Just being here in New York, I just wanted to show every bit of gratitude I could," Alonso said. The museum reached out to Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon about acquiring Alonso's shoes. "I barely got the words out of my mouth that the museum wanted them and Pete was saying, 'Absolutely,'" Wilpon said. A closer look at the cleats and bat Pete Alonso donated to the 9/11 Museum today.

SEINFELD - (1989 - 98) Actor Michael Richards, actress Julia Louise-Dreyfus, and comedian Jerry Seinfeld attend the DVD Release Party for the first three seasons of 'Seinfeld' held on November 17, 2004 at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller(CNN) - Will there really be a "Seinfeld" reboot? It all started with Jerry Seinfeld's apparent admiration for New York Mets star Pete Alonso, who just set a MLB record for the most home runs in a season by a rookie. "Deeply contemplating "Seinfeld" re-boot if I can lock up @Pete_Alonso20 for next episode of "The Boyfriend," the comedian wrote. In the episode Jerry meets Hernandez, his idol, and wants to make a good impression but grows disenchanted after the baseball star breaks their plans to go on a date with Elaine. "Oh my," Jessica Seinfeld wrote in the Instagram caption of a photo showing her husband's tweet.

CLEVELAND (AP) - Mets rookie Pete Alonso has a million-dollar swing. Needing 23 homers to beat Guerrero, Alonso connected for a homer to left-center before flipping his bat high into the air and hugging his pitcher, cousin Derek Morgan. Alonso is the second rookie to win, following Aaron Judge in 2017. He's also the first Mets player to win the derby outright. Alonso has hit 30 home runs this year and will play in Tuesday night's All-Star Game.

Mets rookie Pete Alonso has a million-dollar swing. New York's newest slugger outlasted a worn-down Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final round of the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night to win $1 million nearly double his 2019 salary. Pete Alonso, of the New York Mets, reacts during the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 8, 2019, in Cleveland. John Minchillo / APNeeding 23 homers to beat Guerrero, Alonso connected for a homer to left-center before flipping his bat high into the air and hugging his pitcher, cousin Derek Morgan. Alonso has hit 30 home runs this year and will play in Tuesday night's All-Star Game.