09 Aug GETTING TO KNOW: NEW YORK METS FIRST BASEMAN, PETE ALONSO.
This past Sunday, Pete
Alonso registered his 94th
and 95th RBIs, extending his
National League lead and
pulling him within two of
Yankees out elder Aaron
Judge for the most in MLB. In
the ve-game series against the Atlanta
Braves, Alonso stayed hot, going 8-for-19
(.421) with three walks, four runs and
seven RBIs. His 12 RBIs against the Braves
this season are the most by any opposing
player.
How do you think the Mets have been playing
since the All Star break?
We’ve de nitely elevated our game. We want to
continue to do that as the season progresses. We
just want to continue to pass the baton and put
together high-quality at-bats. I feel like we’ve
been doing a really good job of that as of late.
When you get up to the plate, are you always
looking to go yard?
The whole purpose is winning games and driving
guys in, whether it’s hitting the ball over the
fence or driving guys in. I just want to do my job. I
just want to be the best I can at what I do. I want
to be the best I can, the best version of myself
every single day to help this team win.
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 speci c 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?
De nitely 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.
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 pro le, to create
an elevated taste.
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 today. 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.