While Juan Soto toyed with the idea of joining this year’s loaded Home Run Derby field, he ultimately decided against participating in the competition he won in 2022 as a member of the Nationals. That choice ensured that this year’s derby would not feature any current Mets. If that fact keeps your interest in the derby low, you can instead reminisce about the times that Mets players participated in the annual competition.
Darryl Strawberry (1986, 1990)
Before the Mets won the 1986 World Series, their outfielder and homegrown superstar
Darryl Strawberry, who would finish the season with a team-leading 27 home runs, took home a share of the Home Run Derby crown, making him the first Met to win the derby in the process. He did so by hitting four home runs, which is a paltry and somewhat laughable amount given the current derby most of us are familiar with. However, in the early days of the derby (1985-1990), the participants were given two “innings” of five outs each to hit as many home runs as they could. In doing so, he matched the number hit by California Angels slugger Wally Joyner, who beat out a field including Jose Canseco and Dave Parker. The most notable home run of the derby came courtesy of Strawberry, who hit a speaker in the ceiling of the Astrodome. A few months later, the Mets would author their own magical moment in the Astrodome as a team, when they took down the Astros in 16 innings to win Game 6 of the NLCS and advance to the Fall Classic.
Strawberry would return to defend his crown a few years later to defend his crown. However, he would go on to put up a goose egg. He shouldn’t feel too bad, however, as the eight participants combined for just five home runs total in what many have since been remembered as the worst Home Run Derby ever due to swirling winds at Wrigley Field that prevented much in the way of actual…you know…home runs. The hometown crowd was certainly happy, as Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg hit three home runs to take home the crown, beating out Mark McGwire (one), Matt Williams (one), and a loaded field of hitters that couldn’t muster to knock one out of the park.
Howard Johnson (1989, 1991)
While a less-than-memorable season for the Mets, who missed the playoffs after their 100-win 1988 campaign, Howard Johnson enjoyed the best season of his major league career. HoJo posted a career-best 6.9 bWAR and posted a 30-40-40 season (36 home runs, 41 stolen bases, 41 doubles). He rode that wave to his first career All-Star game, and participated in the Home Run Derby as well. Unfortunately, he managed just two dingers in the derby, which still featured the old format that Strawberry participated in. Eric Davis and Ruben Sierra each hit three homers to take home a share of the derby title.
Johnson returned two years later in the middle of his second 30-30 season in three years. 1991 would serve as the last All-Star season of his career, and one that saw him post a career-high in home runs (38) and RBI (117). That success did not translate to the derby, as HoJo was held off the board in Toronto’s Skydome. Cal Ripken Jr. knocked 12 balls out of the park to win the crown. This was the first year of a new derby format, which invited 8-10 players to hit as many home runs as they can in a round before reaching 10 outs. The new format also featured three rounds, and this would last until 2005.
Bobby Bonilla (1993)
Long before becoming the butt of “Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!” jokes that have been like if a dead horse were beaten by another dead horse, Bonilla was actually a feared slugger. Bonilla hit 34 home runs for the Mets in 1993, his best with the club, and was named to his first All-Star team as a Met. He slugged five home runs and finished third in the competition, matching the number hit by Barry Bonds. Juan Gonzalez outlasted Ken Griffey Jr. in a derby playoff to win the crown. Of note in this derby, future Met Mike Piazza was held off the board and finished in last place. Piazza also failed to hit a home run in the 1994 derby and would never compete in the competition as a member of the Mets.
David Wright (2006, 2013)
In his book Captain, Wright talks about his reluctance to participate in the 2006 Home Run Derby, but with the encouragement of those around him, he ended up doing it. It’s a good thing he did, because he put on a show, hitting a Derby-best 16 homers in the first round and wowing the Pittsburgh crowd. Wright, who was never really a “home run hitter” in the traditional sense and did not see power as his greatest asset at the plate, ran out of steam towards the end and fell one home run behind division rival Ryan Howard, who bested him 23-22 overall and 5-4 in the finals. Wright would go on to become the youngest Met to homer in the actual Midsummer Classic, doing so the next night at the age of 23 (the Mets dominated the 2006 All-Star game, with Carlos Beltrán and Wright scoring both NL runs and picking up three of the NL’s six hits). The Mets would also get the last laugh on Howard and the Phillies, winning the NL East handily that year.
Wright, who also talked about not having much desire to participate in a Derby again after that experience, would go on to participate one last time in 2013 in front of the Citi Field home crowd. He was named captain of the derby and was able to hand pick his participants, which included close friend Michael Cuddyer. He managed just five home runs, ahead of only American League Derby captain/future Met Robinson Canó and his four homers. It didn’t matter much to the Flushing Faithful, who showered Wright with applause and adulation upon his Derby exit. What the crowd and Wright did not know was that 2013 would also be the last All-Star season of Wright’s career.
Pete Alonso (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
By far, Alonso has seen more action than any other Met in the derby. In fact, Alonso has participated almost as many times (5) as the other four players on this list (7). And nobody seemed to relish the spotlight more than Alonso.
Alonso, who went on to surpass Strawberry as the franchise’s all-time home run leader, participated in his first derby in his rookie campaign en route to breaking both the franchise’s single-season home run record and the all-time MLB rookie home run record. The fresh up-and-comer took down some heavyweights along the way, knocking down Carlos Santana in the first round 14-13, topping division rival Ronald Acuña Jr. 20-19 in the second round, and then taking out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 23-22 in an electric final round.
Alonso returned to defend his crown in 2021, and defend it he did (and then some). Alonso enacted a small measure of revenge for the 2015 World Series when he knocked out Royals’ catcher Salvador Pérez 35-28 in the first round, then he one-upped 2025 Mets’ teammate Juan Soto 16-15 in the second round, and he beat out Trey Mancini 23-22 in the finals to win back-to-back derbies. He became the third player to accomplish this feat, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1998, 1999) and future Met Yoenis Céspedes (2013, 2014). He is one of four players to win multiple home run derbies, along with Prince Fielder (2009, 2012).
Alonso failed to join Griffey as the only other player to win a third derby crown, and his participation since 2021 provided diminishing returns for Alonso. In 2022, Alonso again knocked Acuña Jr. out of the competition by beating him 20-19 in the first round. However, he ran out of gas in the second round and could not catch Julio Rodriguez’s 31 home runs.
Rodriguez and Alonso faced off in a rematch in the 2023 derby at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, and Rodriguez put on a show for his home fans. He broke a derby record by crushing 41 home runs in the first round, and Alonso could only muster 21 to bow out in his earliest exit at that point. In his final derby performance as a Met, Alonso hit just 12 home runs and failed to advance beyond the first round, finishing ahead of just Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles. Despite those three losses, Alonso put together some of the most memorable derby performances of all time, and by far the most memorable showings from a Met.
You can watch the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park exclusively on Netflix starting at 8:00 PM EDT, with special pre-derby coverage beginning at 7:00 PM.
