Tag Archives: Dominic Smith

New York Mets’ Slugger Pete Alonso Named National League Rookie of the Year

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Pete Alonso is living proof that persistence pays off…

The 24-year-old part-Spanish American Major League Baseball player began the 2019 season fighting just to make the New York Mets‘ Opening Day roster. But he ends it as the National League Rookie of the Year after slugging a rookie record 53 home runs, driving in 120 runs and becoming a cult hero for Mets fans for his energy and enthusiasm and one memorable bare-chested postgame interview.

Pete Alonso

Alonso was a near unanimous selection of the award’s 30 voters, getting 29 first-place votes. Atlanta Braves starter Mike Soroka received the other first-place vote and finished second, with San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. finishing third.

Soroka posted a 2.68 ERA and won 13 games as the ace of the division-winning Braves. Tatis slashed .317/.379/.590 and dazzled fans with his defensive plays in the infield, but an injury ended his season at 84 games.

“To just win the award, doesn’t matter if it’s unanimous or not,” Alonso said on Monday night. “It’s still such a blessing.”

Alonso’s 53 home runs broke Aaron Judge‘s rookie record of 52 set in 2017, as Alonso became the sixth Rookie of the Year in Mets history, the first since Jacob deGrom in 2014. 

He joins Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Chris Davis as the only active players with 50 home runs in a season and he’s just the 30th player in MLB history to reach that mark. 

His 120 RBIs are the seventh most for a rookie in major league history and the most since Albert Pujols had 130 in 2001.

Alonso’s storybook season was no sure thing back in spring training, however. Although he led the minors with 39 home runs in 2018, the Mets had a glut of infielders with Robinson Cano, Jed Lowrie, Todd Frazier and Dominic Smith all in the mix at first, second and third base along with Alonso. There were also concerns about Alonso’s defense, and many teams start their top prospects in Triple-A for a couple of weeks to manipulate the player’s service time.

Alonso, however, earned a roster spot after hitting .352 with four home runs in spring training. It also helped that Lowrie and Frazier began the season on the injured list.

Alonso, a second-round pick in 2016 out of the University of Florida, ran with the opportunity, hitting .378 with six home runs in his first 12 games. He said he was challenged by first-year general manager Brodie Van Wagenento “show up in shape and earn your spot.”

“I felt like I answered the bell,” Alonso said.

He finished April with nine home runs, bashed 10 more in May and entered the All-Starbreak with 30 home runs. In Cleveland, he took home the $1 million prize for winning the Home Run Derby, upstaging fellow rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr.in the final round with a 23-22 victory after Guerrero had bashed 40 home runs in the semifinals.

“It’s survive and advance,” Alonso said after his win. “You’ve got to go in with kind of a killer instinct. It doesn’t matter how many you hit; you just need to have one more than the guy you’re facing.”

Alonso also won over fans when he pledged 5% of his winnings to the Wounded Warrior Projectand another 5% to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Along the way, Alonso became a fan favorite, not just for his prodigious home runs — he hit 15 of at least 430 feet — but also for his infectious joy and his ability to win over New Yorkers. When the Mets began surging back into the playoff race in early August, he issued a not-safe-for-work rallying cry playing off the “Let’s go Mets!” chant. After a walk-off bases-loaded walk beat the Philadephia Phillies on September 6, Mets teammates ripped off Alonso’s jersey and he conducted interviews on SNY and MLB Network bare-chested.

“I’m not taking my shirt off for this one,” Alonso joked on MLB Network’s broadcast while accepting the award.

He wore custom-made cleats on September 11 to honor the victims of 9/11, even ordering a pair for each of his teammates. “For me, I just come from a place where I want to show support, not just for the victims but their families as well, because no one really knows how deep those emotional scars can be,” Alonso said at the time.

He smashed his 42nd home run on August 27, breaking the Mets’ team record shared by Carlos Beltran and Todd Hundley. With three games remaining in the regular season, Alonso was one homer away from tying Judge. He matched him with a home run at home against the Braves in Game 160 and then surpassed Judge in Game 161 with a third-inning home run off Mike Foltynewicz, a towering shot to right-center. Alonso raised both arms over his head in triumph, received hugs from teammates and a standing ovation from the crowd, and then he wiped tears from his eyes while playing first base the following inning.

“To me, it just means so much,” Alonso said after the game. “I didn’t know I was going to be overcome with all that emotion. At that point, I might as well just let it out.”

Adrian Gonzalez Finalizes One-Year Deal with the New York Mets

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Adrian Gonzalez has Mets his match…

The 35-year-old Mexican American professional baseball player has finalized a one-year deal with the New York Mets for the $545,000 major league minimum.

Adrian Gonzalez

And Gonzalez vows to have a quiet voice with his new team.

Bobby Valentine, Gonzalez’s manager during the Boston Red Sox‘s last-place 2012 season, was quoted by the New York Post this week as saying: “He can really talk — he is a smart guy and he is excessive in his willingness to share his thoughts.”

“I think Bobby was in the right there,” Gonzalez said. “I think going into that 2012 season I heard a lot of people tell me that I had to be more of a vocal leader and do things that were out of context for me. I feel like I went into that season trying to make myself do something that I’m not used to doing. And I do agree with Bobby: I think I had a lot of opinions that year. But I don’t think it is who I am.”

Gonzalez said he reverted to his previous demeanor after he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 2012.

“I made a commitment to myself to not be somebody that someone else wants me to be and just be who I am,” he said. “I think that was the only season when I’ve been that person, and I promise that is not who I am and that’s not who I’ll be and definitely not who I’m going to be with the Mets because that’s not me.”

Now 35, Gonzalez will compete for playing time with rookie first baseman Dominic Smith, who hit .198 in 49 games after his August call-up. Outfielder Jay Bruce and Wilmer Flores also are possibilities for time at first, general manager Sandy Alderson said this week.

“There is somewhat of a defined role as far as starting a good amount of games but it’s not set in stone,” Gonzalez said. “I am a player that can put up great numbers, drive in runs and help the team win.”

Gonzalez hit .242 for the Dodgers last season, when he was limited to 71 games because of a herniated disk in his back. He was left off the postseason roster and watched postseason games from a luxury suite. Major League Baseball limits the dugout to active players during games, and Gonzalez said the Dodgers didn’t allow inactive players in the clubhouse.

“It was unique to be able to watch them from the TV,” he said, “almost be a super fan and be there with them and the ups and downs and give advice from what I see.”

A five-time All-Star, Gonzalez has a .288 average with 311 home runs in 14 major league seasons. The Atlanta Braves, who sent outfielder Matt Kemp to Los Angeles, are responsible for all of his salary except for the amount offset by what the Mets are paying. He was in entering the final season of a $154 million, seven-year contract he signed with Boston, and the Braves will receive $4.5 million from the Dodgers by May 1 as part of the trade.

Gonzalez has changed his offseason workouts because of the bad back.

“I’m doing more Pilates, more stretching, more conditioning, a lot of water activity, water aerobics,” he said. “It’s responding really well.”

He plans to mentor the 22-year-old Smith in spring training, especially on defense.

“Just kind of the mindset and tell him all my experiences and everything I’ve done,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to that adventure, Dominic, as well, so I can help him become the best major leaguer he can be in the future.”