It can be easy to forget that Francisco Alvarez hasn’t even turned 25 years old yet.
The one-time top prospect has had a bumpy ride as a catcher for the New York Mets.
He’s had moments that flash greatness. He’s had moments that have earned him a surprise demotion back to Triple-A. And he’s had a lot of everything in between.
On Friday night, Alvarez reminded the baseball world just how special his talent is. The Mets found themselves in a slugfest with the San Francisco Giants, and Alvarez stole the show.
The Mets’ catcher hit two home runs in the same game, and not for the first time.
In fact, this was the seventh multi-homer game of Alvarez’s career.
Francisco Alvarez hits his second homer of the game! pic.twitter.com/jh6X9itGXA
— MLB (@MLB) September 5, 2026
With that mark, Alvarez made some history.
Francisco Alvarez Catcher History
With seven multi-homer games before turning 25, Alvarez now ranks tied for second in MLB history for such performances by a catcher, according to MLB stats guru Sarah Langs.
He’s tied with Mets legend Gary Carter, which adds to the cool factor of the list.
In first place, one ahead? Johnny Bench, who had eight multi-homer games before turning 25.
Most multi-homer games as catcher before turning 25:
Johnny Bench: 8
Francisco Alvarez: 7
Gary Carter: 7 https://t.co/EBAs3W9Glu— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 5, 2026
That’s the reminder about Alvarez’s talent. A lesser player, even one with more consistency, would never be on a list like that.
At his best, Alvarez can reside with some of the best power-hitting catchers in the history of the sport.
The question for the Mets for the future is whether they can get Alvarez to be this player more consistently.
Francisco Alvarez Age
Alvarez is still 24 years old. He’ll turn 25 on Nov. 19.
That means he plays the rest of this season at sub-25 and could move up this record list if he can find his way to another multi-homer game.
Maybe the most amazing part is that with Alvarez’s two homers on Friday night, he has 63 for his career.
The odds of seven multi-homer games for a guy with 63 career home runs just doesn’t seem that high, but that’s what Alvarez has done.
He’s still under Mets club control for three seasons after this — needing to go through all three of his arbitration years.
He’s not a perfect player, but Alvarez has some special talent within him. Rarely has that been more true than it was on Friday night with yet another prodigious night at the plate for the Mets’ still-young catcher.
Mets’ Francisco Alvarez Ties Legend, Nears Johnny Bench in Baseball History