PORT ST. LUCIE – As someone who grew up in Tampa and still lived in the area, the sports fan has been nirvana for the past six months.
For this piece, the Stanley Cup and the Lombardi Trophy were collected for the Lightning and the Buccaneers respectively. And a third professional team in the Tampa area, the Rays, advanced to Game 6 of the World Series.
This has fueled Alonso’s appetite even further for success in his work as Mets’ first man. 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 the last team at the end of the year and to be able to see how much the city of Tampa is buzzing, it was full of energy and exciting, and I can not wait for that to happen in New. York, start in Queens, ”Alonso said on Friday after a team practice.
‘To have that buzz, to have that energy, to have that swing, that excitement, it’s a privilege, and it’s starting now with attention to detail and going out there and our asses competing and going out there and wanting to win and do anything to win. Being in that kind of environment is a privilege and I can not wait for it. I hope all five districts become a massive block party if we do. ”
Alonso followed his historic 2019 season, in which he set an MLB rookie record by shooting 53 homers, with a second slide, if you can call it more than 60 games. In all, he finished with a respected .231 / .326 / .490 dash with 16 homers and 35 RBIs for a team that finished last in the NL East.
No one will root harder for a return to a full season than Alonso, who said he was built for the marathon, but not necessarily the sprint.
“Sixty game-season I can’t put too much merit on 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. It’s a year of resilience and I’m just glad we’re going to play 162 this year. ”
Alonso declined early last season and improved by mid-August, but the Mets were quarantined for a week after a player and coach tested positive for COVID-19, and momentum was halted. Alonso started rising again late in the season.
“I’m very happy that last year just happened, because I feel like I’m very prepared for this year and last year exposed a lot of things that I could get better at, and I’m ready to go,” Alonso said. “I’m ready to have fun and go play there.”
Without the universal designated hit, Alonso will prepare as if he were the usual first player. If an agreement is reached between MLB and the MLBPA before the season to implement the universal DH, it could put Dominic Smith at DHon on the very first defensive stand.
“I think I’m a very good first player and I just really want to play ball,” Alonso said. ‘I’m a first man and I’m a position player. I’m not a DH. I don’t want to be labeled that way because I worked too hard and felt like I played well.
‘In 2019, I played very well on the first base. In 2020 I did not have my best year, whether it was offensive or defensive, but this year I have a wonderful opportunity and I want to grow as a person and a player, and I feel like I will never be on my own do not think like a DH. I will always think of myself as a first man. ‘
Alonso arrived at the camp last year with the aim of winning a golden glove and driving the season to a parade, ‘drunk as hell’. He responded in the affirmative on Friday when asked if he has the same goals for 2021.
“It’s going to be a good year,” Alonso said.