Baltimore Orioles star first baseman Pete Alonso didn't mince words about his team's performance this season after Thursday's elimination from postseason contention.
"We failed to perform and do what we were supposed to do," Alonso said Friday, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com. "We had great moments, great individual performances, but as a whole, that's not the standard here. And that's unacceptable for us."
The Orioles (78-81) sit fourth in the AL East heading into their final series of the regular season. Last offseason, the club added Alonso, Shane Baz, Ryan Helsley, and Chris Bassitt to a young core that featured Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, and Adley Rutschman, whom Baltimore dealt to the Boston Red Sox at this year's trade deadline.
"The standard for us is to not only make the postseason but make a run and have a legitimate shot to hold up a trophy at the end of the year, and we didn't even give ourselves an opportunity to enter the dance in October," Alonso added.
President of baseball operations Mike Elias and manager Craig Albernaz will return in 2027 despite the team failing to qualify for the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns.
"We need to do a better job as players because that's what it boils down to," Alonso said. "At the end of the day, you can have all the help, all the coaching, all the information, but it's about getting it done between the lines, and collectively as a group, we didn't do that."
Alonso's first season with the Orioles was a big success individually. The five-time All-Star has hit an AL-leading 42 homers with 112 RBIs and an .879 OPS over 160 games after inking a five-year, $155-million contract.
