Mets' Pete Alonso Joins 2023 MLB Home Run Derby Field; Won Titles in 2019, 2021

Two-time Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso will be swinging for the fences again on July 10.

"I will be participating in the 2023 Home Run Derby," the New York Mets slugger said on the ESPN broadcast during Sunday's game against the San Francisco Giants. "You can count me in. I'm super stoked to do it, it's a super talented field, and it's going to be great competition. I think this one's going to be one to remember."

Alonso hit 57 homers, third-most in Derby history, to become the second rookie to win the contest in 2019 before defending his title in 2021.

Alonso will be competing against Mookie Betts, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and defending champion Juan Soto for his third Derby title.

After winning his first Derby title in 2019, Alonso finished his rookie season with an NL-leading 53 home runs.

This season, Alonso's offense has dipped alongside the rest of his teammates' as the Mets fell to one of the worst-hitting teams in the league with an injured Aaron Judge.

Despite heading into Sunday with a career-low .217 batting average, however, Alonso is on pace to match that personal-best home run total from 2019.

He hit 24 homers, including six over a stretch of nine games in March, in his first 75 appearances. That ranks third in the MLB and gives Alonso hope of dominating at the Derby next week.

To take back his title, Alonso will have to beat two young stars in the Washington Nationals' Soto and the Seattle Mariners' Rodriguez, the winner and runner-up of the 2022 competition, respectively. Rodriguez, who eliminated Alonso in the second round, became the first competitor in Derby history to record two rounds of 30-plus home runs last year.

Another experienced Derby competitor facing Alonso is the Toronto Blue Jays' Guerrero, who holds the challenge's single-round record with 40 home runs in 2019. Guerrero's father, Vlad Sr., won the competition in 2007.

Alonso will hope to shake off this rough month for the Mets in order to make history. A win will lead him to join Ken Griffey Jr., who won in 1994, 1998 and 1999, as the only players in MLB history to claim victory in the Derby three times.

The 2023 Home Run Derby will take place at 8 pm E.T on July 10.