David Lennon: Pete Alonso on Mets tenure ... 'I don't need to look back'
Former Met Pete Alonso is honored in a pre-game ceremony celebrating his franchise record-breaking home run at Citi Field on Aug. 14, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
SARASOTA, Florida -- It was an odd sight seeing Pete Alonso wearing the Orioles’ orange-and-black, joking in the on-deck circle with his locker neighbor Gunnar Henderson, listening to advice from Hall of Famer Cal Ripken.
At first glance, Alonso looked out of place. Sort of like spotting a Polar Bear prowling South Beach.
But you know who isn’t weirded out by the whole thing?
The Orioles’ new $155 million first baseman. Alonso is perfectly fine with it, and if you try to steer him back to those first seven years in Flushing, or owning the Mets’ all-time home-run title, or the pining adoration of a heartbroken fan base, he’ll nudge the conversation right back to Baltimore.
There’s still a lot to unpack with Alonso, who not only failed to receive a respectable bid to stay with the Mets -- he never got an offer, period. At the time, president of baseball operations David Stearns said it was obvious from the jump Pete’s market was going beyond their budget for him, so the Mets never bothered, and Alonso soon got his five-year deal with the suddenly free-spending Orioles.
When reminded Tuesday of that scenario, and asked if it bothered him heading out the door, Alonso didn’t blink.
“For me, there’s no need to think about the what-ifs and the hypotheticals because I’m so appreciated here,” Alonso told Newsday. “To where it’s like I feel so comfortable, so awesome with this group, that I don’t need to look back.
“I’m beyond happy here, so there’s no reason for me to think anything else other than this organization winning a World Series.”
Alonso used to talk that way about the Mets, even during his final season, which was only made possible through owner Steve Cohen’s diplomatic efforts at the end of very contentious negotiations. By then, the writing was on the wall at Citi Field. Alonso passed Darryl Strawberry for the Mets’ all-time home run record (finishing with 264 total) and wound up cleaning out his Flushing locker for good six weeks later.
So how does he feel about the Mets now? For Alonso, it’s complicated.
“Beyond grateful for the experience,” he said. “But my biggest priority is to win for this team and the city of Baltimore. I’m beyond appreciative for the past -- but it’s the past. I need to focus on the present and the future.”
Alonso appears happy with the present, even aside from the part about being much wealthier. The Orioles have a policy of rotating clubhouse DJ duties and Alonso took a spin the other day, kicking things off with “Freek-A-Leek” by Petey Pablo.
“Very high energy,” Alonso said. “That’s what you need -- just like a cup of coffee, right?”
Simply put, Alonso finally found a team that loves him back. The Orioles gave him a record AAV for a first baseman ($31 million) and the contract was the second-biggest financial commitment in the history of the franchise. When Chris Bassitt signed with Baltimore, he even cited Alonso -- his former Mets’ teammate -- as one of the major reasons.
“Pete’s an elite player, but he’s just selfless,” Bassitt said Tuesday. “He genuinely cares about every single guy in this locker room. When you have the best players on your team caring about all the other guys in the room over themselves, it only adds to what I know you need to build a great team. I don’t know if they even know it yet, but Pete’s just an unbelievable, calm leader.”
Ironically, the Mets now find themselves with a bit of a leadership vacuum after importing a number of new faces and Cohen stating Monday that the team will “never" have an official captain as long as he owns the franchise. Whatever clubhouse issues there were in Flushing last season, Alonso didn’t seem to be one of the culprits, and the Orioles are counting on him to help rookie manager Craig Albernaz, 43, navigate his first try running the show.
“He’s the right fit for the club,” Albernaz said Tuesday. “He’s such a great person and he gets the art of baseball -- all the little things that matter. I think the outside perception of him is he plays first base and hits a bunch of homers. But he brings so much more to the table for us. That’s something we’re leaning into and the rest of the guys are gravitating to.”
Alonso still stays in touch with some of the Mets. Sean Manaea, who recently became a Tampa neighbor of Pete, remains a good friend. There was a period of Alonso’s career where he never could have imagined playing somewhere other than Citi Field or wearing another uniform. But as free agency drew closer, and he hired Scott Boras to represent him, it didn’t become so hard to picture anymore.
The Mets are just a closed chapter to Alonso, and now that he’s joined the revamped Orioles, they’re a legitimate threat again in the powerful AL East. With a top four of Henderson, Taylor Ward, Adley Rutschman and Alonso, they stack up with just about anyone in the American League.
Alonso was once valued as a championship piece in Flushing, too. But Stearns ultimately viewed him as a costly liability over time, a 31-year-old suspect defender unworthy of an expensive long-term deal. Alonso can’t wait to prove his former employer wrong. He was anxiously looking forward to Friday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Yankees -- “My ninth straight,” Alonso pointed out proudly, a nod to his rare durability over the years.
He did always show up for the Mets, until they turned their back on him.
“It was a part of the journey,” Alonso said. “I’d like to think I made a lot of great memories, and I’ll carry those memories for the rest of my life.”
Just wearing an Orioles uniform now.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
