‘Shocked’ Darryl Strawberry Says Pete Alonso Will ‘Regret’ Leaving Mets for Orioles

HARBOR ST. LUCIE – Darryl Strawberry can’t understand why the player who broke his Mets all-time home run record left Queens.

Pete Alonso will “regret” his departure from the Mets, according to Strawberry.

“I was really shocked that Pete would leave New York for Baltimore,” Strawberry said Monday at spring training. “Pete could have broken all the records and been at the top of every offensive category for this organization. Sometimes if you don’t see that and realize how important that is, one day he’ll wake up like me and regret that you didn’t stay where you are.”

Strawberry, who left the Mets in free agency to join the Dodgers after the 1990 season, said Alonso — who got a five-year, $155 million contract from the Orioles — should never have opted out of his contract after last season. Alonso would have received $24 million from the Mets this season had he not opted out.

After opting out, Alonso never received an offer from the Mets. According to sources, the team expected him to return after exploring the market, but the length of the Orioles’ offer made it a moot point.

“The biggest mistake I saw was him backing out after they lost in Miami,” Strawberry said, referring to the Mets’ final game last season. “I think if he had just waited and said, ‘Okay, I’ll stick with it, but give me a four-year contract, something like that, they could have worked it out.'”

Strawberry was asked if the Mets should have fought harder to keep Alonso.

“I think it’s a combination,” Strawberry said. “I think they both could have fought harder in that situation.”

Alonso last season eclipsed Strawberry’s previous franchise record of 252 home runs. Like Strawberry, he was a homegrown Mets player.

“He worked his way up to become the player he was,” Strawberry said. “He deserved all the credit for that and for what he accomplished. I’m just not leaving New York to go to Baltimore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to Baltimore. But I say, this is New York, come on. Baltimore is a good place, but it’s not New York.”