PORT ST. LUCIE — As someone who grew up in Tampa and still resides in the area, the past six months have been nirvana for Pete Alonso the sports fan.
Over that stretch, the Stanley Cup and the Lombardi Trophy were raised for the Lightning and the Buccaneers, respectively. And a third professional team in Tampa area, the Rays, advanced to Game 6 of the World Series.
All of it has whetted Alonso’s appetite even further for success in his job as Mets first baseman. Simply put, 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 being able to see how much the City of Tampa was buzzing, 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 workout.
“To have that buzz, to have that energy, to have that swagger, that excitement, that is a privilege and it starts now with attention to details and going out there and competing our asses off and going out there and wanting to win and doing anything for a win. Being in that type of environment is a privilege and I can’t wait for that. I hope all five boroughs turn into a massive block party when we do it.”
Alonso followed his historic 2019 season, in which he set a MLB rookie record by blasting 53 homers, with a sophomore slide, if you can call it that over 60 games. In all he finished with a respectable .231/.326/.490 slash line with 16 homers and 35 RBIs for a team that finished last in the NL East.
Nobody will be rooting harder for a return to a full season than Alonso, who said he is built for the marathon, but not necessarily the sprint.
“Sixty-game season, I can’t put too much merit in that because I know it’s tough,” Alonso said. “Last year it was a very abnormal year — not just baseball but I think for all of us. This is a year of resiliency and I’m just happy that we get to play 162 this year.”
Alonso slumped early last season and showed improvement by mid-August, but the Mets were quarantined for a week after a player and coach tested positive for COVID-19, and that momentum halted. Alonso began another surge late in the season.
“I’m really happy that last year happened the way it did, because I feel like I’m very prepared for this year and last year exposed a lot of things I needed to get better at and I am ready to go,” Alonso said. “I am ready to have fun and go out there and play.”
Without the universal designated hitter in place, Alonso will prepare as if he’s the regular first baseman. Should an agreement to implement the universal DH be reached before the season between MLB and the MLBPA, it could put defensively superior Dominic Smith at first base much of the time, with Alonso at DH.
“I think I am a really good first baseman and I just want to really play ball,” Alonso said. “I’m a first baseman and I’m a position player. I’m not a DH. I don’t want to be labeled as that because I have worked too hard and I feel like I have played well.
“In 2019 I played really well at first base. In 2020 I didn’t have my best year whether it be offense or defensively, but this year I have a great opportunity and I want to grow as a person and a player and I feel like I will never think of myself as a DH. I will always think of myself as a first baseman.”
Alonso arrived at camp last year with goals of winning a Gold Glove and ending the season on a parade float “drunk as hell.” He answered in the affirmative Friday when asked if he had the same goals for 2021.
“It’s going to be a good year,” Alonso said.
Read More: Pete Alonso wants Mets title and a ‘massive’ block party