26 Feb Getting to Know Pete Alonso
Name: Peter Morgan Alonso
Born: December 7, 1994 (age 24) 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.He signed with the Mets for a $909,200 signing bonus, and spent 2016 with the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League, where he posted a .321 batting average with five home runs and 21 RBIs in thirty games. In 2018 Alonso crushed 42 homers in 159 games between Double-A Binghamton, Triple-A Las Vegas, and the Arizona Fall League.
What was the feeling like when you were drafted by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2016 draft? Unforgettable. It will be something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I was with my parents, my little brother Alex, and my girlfriend Hailey. For draft night I was home; I just wanted to get away from the craziness.
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 specific 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? Definitely 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. At the same token, if you’re a good pitcher then I guess you can use a hitter’s aggressiveness against them, so that’s definitely one of the big things. Once I get that pitch one of the things I’ve been working on most is capitalizing on the pitches I can drive. If I miss that pitch you may end up getting one pitch an at-bat, or even one pitch per game that you can really do damage with just depending on how good the pitcher is that day. If the pitcher can really execute then that definitely helps them out with my aggressive approach.
Whats your day to day approach on the field? Every time I take the field, it’s personal. My livelihood is on the line every day. This is how I’m going to feed my family one day. No
one is going to take this away from me.
Is there a ball player playing today that you look up to? A guy that I like watching now is Paul Goldschmidt and I try to emulate my game after him because he’s just an unbelievable defensive first baseman. He can change the game by either one swing or just an unbelievable defensive play and he just has such a great presence on the field. I love watching Goldy.
How do you like playing for the New York Mets so far? I feel like I’m living the dream. The New York Mets seem to treat all their ball players great. It doesnt make a difference which round you were selected in, they treat all their players with class. I feel very fortunate.
What is your goal going into spring training? To look sharp and ready to go. I want to show up in the best shape of my life, open some eyes in that aspect, hit the ground running, and just get in good form as quick as possible. I want to be able to have a fully healthy year and open some eyes.