PORT ST. LUCIE: As someone who grew up in Tampa and still resides in the area, the last six months have been nirvana for Pete Alonso, the sports fan.
During this stretch, the Stanley Cup and the Lombardi Trophy were lifted for Lightning and Buccaneers respectively. And a third professional team in the Tampa area, the Rays, moved on to the 6th game of the World Series.
All this has further provoked Alonso’s appetite for success in his work as Mets’ first baseman. In a nutshell, Alonso wants to bring a missing piece of hardware to New York: the Commissioner’s Trophy.
“The goal for us is to be that last team at the end of the year and be able to see how much the city of Tampa was boiling, it was full of energy and exciting and I can’t wait for that to happen in New York, starting in Queens.” , Alonso said Friday after a team training session.
“Having that buzz, having that energy, having that bragging, that excitement, that’s a privilege and it starts now with attention to detail and going out there, competing our asses and going out there and wanting to win and do anything to win “Being in this kind of environment is a privilege and I can’t wait for it. I hope the five municipalities become a massive party when we do it.”
Alonso followed his historic 2019 season, in which he set an MLB rookie record by destroying 53 homers, with a sophomore slide, if you can call it more than 60 games. In total, he finished with a respectable .231 / .326 / .490 bar line with 16 homers and 35 RBI for a team that finished last in the Northeast League.
No one will root harder to get back to a full season than Alonso, who said he is built for the marathon, but not necessarily for the sprint.
“During the sixty-game season, I can’t put too much merit into it because I know it’s hard,” Alonso said. “Last year was a very abnormal year, not just baseball, but I think for all of us. This is a year of resistance and I’m glad we can play 162 this year. “
Alonso fell early last season and showed improvements in mid-August, but the Mets were in quarantine for a week after a player and coach tested positive for COVID-19, and that momentum came to a halt. Alonso started another wave at the end of the season.
“I’m very happy that last year went the same way, because I feel very prepared for this year and last year I laid out a lot of things I needed to improve and I’m ready to start,” Alonso said. “I’m ready to have fun and go out and play.”
Without the designated universal hitter in his place, Alonso will prepare as if he were the usual first baseman. If an agreement was reached to implement universal DH before the season between MLB and MLBPA, Dominic Smith could be placed on first base defensively on first base most of the time, with Alonso at DH.
“I think I’m a really good first baseman and I just want to play ball,” Alonso said. “I’m the first baseman and I’m a position player. I am not DH. I don’t want them to mark me like that because I’ve worked too hard and I feel like I’ve played well.
“In 2019 I played very well at first base. In 2020 I didn’t have my best year, either attacking or defensively, but this year I have a great opportunity and I want to grow as a person and as a player and I feel like I never think of myself as a DH. I will always think of myself as a first base ”.
Alonso arrived at the camp last year with the goals of winning a gold glove and finishing the season in a “drunk as hell” parade float. He responded in the affirmative on Friday when asked if he had the same goals for 2021.
“It’s going to be a good year,” Alonso said.