QUEENS — New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez’s barrage on the history books only grew fiercer on Tuesday night at Citi Field after hitting a pair of home runs in a nervy 11-10 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Bringing his total up to 19 round-trippers on the season, the rookie star has the second-most home runs in an age-21 season by a catcher in Major League Baseball history, trailing only the legendary Johnny Bench — one of the best catchers the game has ever seen — and his 26 basts in 1969.
“That’ll get your attention a little bit,” quipped Mets manager Buck Showalter.
Asked if he could believe that he was having this kind of success in his first full MLB season, Alvarez continued to exude the confidence that has already made him one of the most imposing backstops in the game.
“Why not?” he asked with his increasingly-signature smile that has lit up Citi Field and brought passion to a team fighting to stay relevant in 2023.
“I’m not putting too much mind to it,” Alvarez continued. “I just want to continue to go out there because the games are still meaningful and I expect to hit more home runs. I don’t know how many home runs Johnny Bench hit and I’m not really focused on that right now.”
The Venezuelan native has continuously shown an ability to adapt his approach at the plate to maintain his power surges. Consistent playing time after being called up two weeks into the season saw him finally catch on, overcoming a 13-game start in which he batted just .194 with one home run and two RBI. Over his next 30 games from May 1-June 10, Alvarez batted .270 with a .990 OPS, 11 homers, and 23 RBI.
But major-league pitching catches on, and that’s exactly what happened to cool the catcher down. He was held homer-less for the next 15 games while going 5-for-45 before getting back to basics and tweaking his approach.
“It’s been working a lot with the hitting coaches. Just working a lot more on my concentration and my focus,” Alvarez said. “It’s been pretty big with my lower half where I was rotating my front foot too much. Now that I have more control over it, I feel like I have better control over my swing.”
That feel he spoke of certainly translates to public perception. Alvarez has reignited over his last 11 games, batting .368 with seven home runs and 13 RBI in the month of July, riding that belief that he’ll find a way to deliver when called upon.
“The worst thing that can happen is that I fly out or that I get out,” Alvarez said. “At the end of the day, you have to trust in yourself because the worst things have already happened. These things have happened before.
“That’s where you need to be able to control your emotions in those situations.”
That hasn’t always been the easiest thing for Alvarez to do. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the tying runners on base during an April 11 game against the San Diego Padres, he chased high fastball after high fastball from closer Josh Hader before striking out to seal a 4-2 loss.
“I certainly don’t have to worry about his want-to,” Showalter said at the time. “The challenge up here sometimes is not having those emotional at-bats.”
“He’s not having as many emotional at-bats,” Showalter said on Tuesday. “You’re always walking a fine line and I’m not taking that away from him. He’s just under control… He’s not scared of the moment. He doesn’t mind when the ball falls to him. That’s rare.”
“I’m always ready to swing at my pitch,” Alvarez added. “So whether it’s the first or second pitch, if they throw me that pitch that I’m looking for. If they don’t then I say ‘I’m not going to swing.’ It’s not that I’m passive, I’m just looking for a certain pitch.”
The continuing evolution of Alvarez has now firmly put him in the National League Rookie of the Year conversation. His 19 home runs lead all NL rookies while his .837 OPS ranks third (min. 50 games played) and his 39 RBI rank fifth.
“He’s having a good year… I’m proud of him,” Showalter said. “He’s got a lot of baseball to play.”
For more on Francisco Alvarez and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
