Pete Alonso thriving as Mets' designated hitter

Ten games in, we’re not ready to make too many sweeping generalizations about the Mets. Especially after Monday’s early test against the 7-2 Giants was postponed because of the monsoon advancing on Citi Field, forcing a Tuesday doubleheader.

But there’s one thing that seems fairly obvious at this point: Pete Alonso has no problem being a DH.

Performance-wise, that is. Alonso considers himself the team’s first baseman, and Buck Showalter says he does, too. With that in mind, it’s never Alonso’s preference to DH.

That has been part of the Mets’ 2022 plan, however, for as long as Dominic Smith remains on the team. And what they’ve discovered — again, only 10 games in — is that Alonso has adapted extremely well to that role when asked.

In fact, he’s done just about all of his damage as the DH despite playing only 30% of his games in that role. In those three games, Alonso is hitting .357 (5-for-14) with three home runs — including his first career grand slam — and 11 of his 14 RBIs, which led the National League after Sunday’s games.

Coincidence? The success probably has a lot more to do with the H part, as Alonso isn’t just the grip-it-and-rip-it type. He’s kept a detailed notebook of his plate appearances since his college days — tracking not only the pitcher but every aspect of the game situations — and makes sure to maximize any of the down time that comes with a DH stint.

So how much does all this data, whether it’s old-school pen and ink or modern video, help predict how Alonso is going to be attacked in future at-bats? That’s hard to pinpoint exactly.

“I’m the kind of guy that’s going to get the kitchen sink,” Alonso said before the rainout.

But all that preparation can only help as Alonso gets better acclimated to more time at DH, and it’s a waste of bandwidth worrying about how first base is going to be divvied up between him and Smith. Obviously, Smith is the superior defender, but Showalter stressed that using Alonso as the DH also is a strategy to keep his bat in the lineup more often rather than potentially wearing him out.

“One of the things I’ve challenged Pete with is, understand that I’m trying to figure out a way for you to play 150-something games for us,” Showalter said. “This is designed to have you available as much as possible . . . I gotta tell you — and I’m not saying Pete at all — but sometimes it’s less a day off at DH than people think it is if they’re not used to it because there’s too much time to think in between.”

Alonso has found ways to remain busy, along with keeping warm enough to smack a seventh-inning homer during Sunday’s frigid 5-0 win over Arizona. Afterward, he joked about showing up in the dugout only when the sun broke through. Otherwise, he said he was doing sprints in the tunnel or using the Therabody massage devices racked near the indoor batting cage. Whatever he’s doing back in the clubhouse area seems to be working.

“I just try to stay as locked in as I possibly can,” Alonso said. “Whether it’s watching video of my swing from the previous at-bats or on the opposing pitcher. For me, it’s just trying to stay hot, stay active and stay as engaged in the game as possible.”

Coming into this season, Alonso hit only .203 (16-for-79) in a relatively short sample size at DH, but his eight home runs still had him going deep once every 10.75 plate appearances in that role. Overall, his career rate is once every 14.81.

If there was any concern about the restless Alonso handling the DH’s curse of inactivity, it’s apparently been squashed by this early power surge. Or as Showalter framed things: “He’s not looking for an excuse to fail.”

That’s been the key here. Rather than getting wrapped up in what position he’s playing, Alonso has focused on destroying baseballs from wherever Showalter pencils him in. The result has been a best-case scenario for the 7-3 Mets and Alonso.

“I really appreciate the way he’s handled it,” Showalter said. “The way some people have probably tried to lead him into — not intentionally — to say something that may not look team-oriented. But Pete’s our first baseman. He’s going to play a very high majority of our games at first base. But when we DH him, it’s designed toward keeping him on the field for the long haul.”

The universal DH, new this year after a 2020 test run, was always going to be a huge plus for the Mets, who have a number of options for that spot. None has been more productive there than Alonso, an early trend that could stick around for a while.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.