PHILADELPHIA Pete Alonso deflects the questions regularly, insisting he is focusing on the small rather than the big. He says he eyes the next pitch or the next play rather than the next offseason. Plenty of people around him will acknowledge that such myopia is ideal but fairly impo sible. The busine s side will take care of itself, and theres no doubt in my mind its gotten to him this year, co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said Thursday in the wake of the . I dont care what anybody says. I dont care what he says. It has to hes human. Pete Alonso hits a home run during the Mets win over the Brewers on Oct. 3. Jason Szenes for the NY Post Co-hitting coach Eric Chavez is pictured during the Mets spring training in February. Corey Nick Gordon Jersey Sipkin for the NY Post The want-to and the desire to go and put up a big year for himself and for the city, sometimes the want-to is just too much. But he stuck it out. Alonso endured a solid season for others and a below average year for him at a significant moment in his life, ready to hit free agency after the season. If he carried that weight with him through a campaign in which he played all 162 games but hit .240 with a .788 OPS and 34 home runs, he did not admit it. Explore More His platform season did not launch him into a different stratosphere of MLB money-earners the way Aaron Judges 2022 season did. See Also New York Mets Or at least, Alonso has not made that leap yet. Alonso struggled particularly in clutch situations all season, hitting .232 with runners in scoring position and posting just a .525 OPS in late and close moments defined predominantly as the seventh inning or later in which the batters team is behind by three runs or fewer, tied or ahead by one run. He just didnt come through with enough big hits and then was granted absolution in the . Alonsos three-run home run with one out in the ninth inning in Milwaukee, which e sentially halted any Mets vacation plans and ensured they would be at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday for the start of the NLDS, might have been the biggest swing in Mets history and certainly was in Alonso history. The home run bought Alonso another series in a Mets uniform, at least one more home game at Citi Field and another chance at finding an eye-opening payday on the open market. Pete Alonso addre ses reporters in the clubhouse after the Mets Game 3 win on Oct. 3. Jason Szenes for the NY Post At the end of the day, Francisco Lindor said in the celebratory clubhouse, if Pete does this in the postseason, hes going to get paid. The opportunity is again in front of Alonso, who seized it Thursday. He is a powerful bat and a capable one, but he did not declare himself a must-have bat during his subpar regular season. After putting the Mets on his back once, what if he does it again in the NLDS? NLCS? World Series? Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! He knows hes one of the best hitters on the planet, Chavez said. [This regular season was] not ideal for him or whatever, but everything is going to change moving forward for him. Hopefully hell slam the door on this whole thing who cares about what happened this year? Now its about what he does in his at-bats in the next two or three weeks. Jean Segura Jersey