LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pete Alonso seemed stunned that this season was over, and perhaps his time with the New York Mets as well.

“I'm just a little shocked that the season is over because once you get into the postseason, you kind of don't really think that it's ever going to end because we've overcome so much and overall really good ones Perform “spots,” Alonso said after the Mets were out with one on Sunday night 10-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in NL Championship Series Game 6.

Alonso posted a .273 batting average with four home runs and 10 RBIs in the postseason. After making $20.5 million this year, the first baseman is eligible for free agency for the first time and turns 30 in December.

“I love this team. I love this organization. “This fan base has treated not only myself but also my family so, so well,” Alonso said. “I love New York. I love this team. I love playing in Queens. This group is truly special and the memories we have created together are just wow. That's why we play baseball, to achieve this togetherness, to go far, to face adversity and overcome it. … I always want more moments like this.”

New York started the season 0-5 and was 22-33 heading into the players' only meeting in late May, which followed the Dodgers' series win at Citi Field. The Mets turned their season around and finished 89-73. With a win in Atlanta the day after the scheduled end of the regular season, they secured the NL's final wild card spot. They rallied in the ninth inning of Game 3 to win an NL Wild Card Series, then defeated NL East champion Philadelphia in the Division Series and reached the LCS for the first time since 2015.

“It's not easy to overcome so much adversity, but we kept finding ways to get the job done,” first-year coach Carlos Mendoza said. “Unfortunately that wasn’t the case in this series. Now let's go home. But as I said, these should be our expectations for the future, we should play well into October.”

In the fourth season after Steve Cohen purchased the Mets from the Wilpons, New York led the major leagues with a $332 million payroll and must pay a $96 million luxury tax.

Pitchers Jose Quintana and Luis Severino can also become free agents, and Sean Manaea has a player option he could decline and leave on a free transfer.

“It’s been an incredible rollercoaster,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We have achieved a lot as a team and as individuals. We became family. We overcame many things and stayed together. That's why I'm firmly convinced that something good is happening here. It doesn't feel good to lose. It will stay with me for a while, but I feel like this year has made me a better person and player and that I have developed a lot.”

Lindor is under contract through 2031 and outfielder Brandon Nimmo through 2030.

Nimmo hopes Alonso will sign a new contract with the Mets.

“He means a lot to the fan base and this team and we would like to see him back here,” Nimmo said, “but as I go through this process, I understand that it is a business and that is what he will do in the end is best for him and his family.”

Nimmo said the stability of entering a second year under president of baseball operations David Stearns and Mendoza will be an advantage over last offseason.

“I really think this is kind of a starting point. “We want to set that as a standard now,” said Nimmo. “There are no surprising people. I think people will be a little more cautious of us at the start of next year and that brings its own terrain where everyone will do their best to try and beat you.”

JD Martinez, another potential free agent, was excited for the core to return. When asked what the future would look like for him, the 37-year-old answered with just one word: “Pickleball.”

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