12 Apr GETTING TO KNOW: NEW YORK METS FIRST BASEMAN PETE ALONSO
FAST FACTS:
Name: Peter Morgan Alonso
Nickname: Polar Bear
Born: December 7, 1994 (age 26) in Tampa, Florida
Drafted: The New York Mets selected Alonso in the second round, with the 64th overall selection, of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.
Favorite Food: Medium Rare Steak
Walkup Song: Welcome to the Show by Cody Johnson
2022 Salary: $7.4 million
Pete Alonso had homered 106
times over his three-plus major
league seasons, but never with
the bases loaded.That changed
this past Motzei Shabbos, when
the Mets slugger found a 91
mph fastball from Joan Adon up
in the strike zone and sent a
towering y ball to left eld that
kept carrying, nestling a few rows deep behind
the fence at Nationals Park. Alonso had his rst
career grand slam, and the Mets gained control
of what became a third straight victory to begin
the season, 5-0 over the Nationals.
Which team did you root for growing up in
Tampa? Growing up, I was super spoiled
because Yankees spring training was 10 minutes
from my house, the Tampa Bay Rays are 35
minutes away, and there was a huge baseball
culture in Tampa. People ask all the time who I
rooted for as a kid. The answer: no one. I had no
true loyalty to a specic team. I just loved
baseball. I loved watching it just as much as I did
playing it. I guess you could call me a baseball
junky.
If someone asked you to give a scouting
report of yourself, what would you say?
Denitely my biggest strength is my bat, but also
to go with that, one thing I take pride in is my
aggressive approach at the plate. I have a real
simple but aggressive approach. If I see a ball that
is remotely in my zone, or if I see a pitch that I
think I can drive, I’m going to swing at it, or I’m
going to take a chance that I’m going to take a
good hack at it.
What drives you? My passion. I love this game.
There’s a lot of times where I feel like a fan not a
player. But I’m lucky enough to play this game. I
want to be known as a winner, I want to be
known as a guy that can help a team win. I just
love to compete. I think it’s the best game in the
world.
Congratulations on your rst MLB grand slam
this past weekend! Did you know it was going
out as soon as it left your bat?
Absolutely.
When was the last time you hit a grandslam?
In 2018 when I was in the minors in Vegas.
Grannies are sick. It felt really good, especially in a
big spot especially when it helps the team win.
Fill in the blank. If you weren’t a baseball
player you would be a ___________________?
I love to cook. So probably a chef. I specialize in
preparing meat, and I don’t discriminate one bit. I
am willing to try anything. I look at cooking and
grilling as an art form, and food is my canvas. It’s
another way to express myself, and my philosophy
is that simple is better. I use simple ingredients
and strategies, like using cherry, apple,
pecan or maple wood pellets to add an extra
sweet, smoky taste to the avor prole, to create
an elevated taste.
Around a month ago in Florida at spring
training, you were in a near-fatal trac
collision. Can you tell everyone about that?
Sure. I am very happy & lucky to be alive. My car
ipped over three times. The guy ran a red light,
T-boned me. I’m just really thankful to be alive. It’s
just a reminder that anything can happen at any
given moment. My truck’s windshield was
shattered. I needed to kick out the truck’s
windshield in order to free myself. Fortunately, I
only suered a single scratch on my arm. My wife,
Haley, witnessed the whole thing. She was
driving behind me. Haley slammed on her breaks,
jumped out of her car and ran up to my truck.
Really thankful that I’m healthy. Very thankful to
be here.
How serious of a contender for the World
Series are the Mets?
I think we can win it, but only one way to nd out.
Play the season. We can’t think about being
champs on Opening Day. We just have to focus
on winning every day and focus on the now and
we’ll nd ourselves playing in October and fans
waving playo towels.