Fifteen days ago, the New York Mets didn’t know if Pete Alonso had played his last game in Queens. On Thursday, the Polar Bear talked about being immortalized among Mets’ royalty.

It’s been a whirlwind start to the Mets’ Spring Training in Port St. Lucie, Florida this week. But when Alonso joined the team on Tuesday for the first time since Game 6 of the NLCS last October, his appearance brought a sense of relief around the clubhouse. This feeling was especially shared by star shortstop Francisco Lindor and manager Carlos Mendoza, both of whom wanted the Polar Bear to return.

On Thursday, Alonso was interviewed on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove and was asked about potentially becoming the Mets’ all-time home run leader. Entering the season, Alonso is just 16 home runs behind David Wright, and 26 home runs behind the franchise leader Darryl Strawberry. Trailing Alonso are teammates Brandon Nimmo and Lindor, who are tied for 14th place on the all-time list with 110 home runs apiece.

“To have that would be really special,” Alonso said to SNY. “When you grow up, you’re just worried about competing and getting to the next level. But to have a franchise record, that’s really tough to wrap my mind around because there are so many great players that have come through this organization.”

Given his performance in his first six seasons with the Mets, Alonso should be able to hit this mark with relative ease. Aside from the COVID-shortened season in 2020, Alonso has never hit fewer than 34 home runs in a full season. Another reason for Alonso’s consistency at the dish is that he has missed very few games due to injury. Notably, the Polar Bear played in all 162 games last season, and has never missed more than 10 games in a season (including 2020).

Alonso would also reach the top of the Mets’ home run list much faster than both Wright and Strawberry; the Polar Bear has played just 846 games for the Mets, compared to 1,109 for Strawberry and 1,585 for Wright. But while Alonso holds a 226 home run head-start, could Juan Soto challenge the record at some point during his record-setting 15-year contract with the Mets?

For now, the countdown is on for Alonso as Mets fans celebrate his return to the team. The team has World Series aspirations this year, but before then, all eyes will be on the slugger climbing his way to the top of the Mets’ home run mountain.