Pete Alonso’s recent pop-off slap at MLB is misguided, and it doesn’t resonate with the Mets franchise. It can’t happen again…
Pete Alonso is a fun guy and a developing great ballplayer. But he needs to realize Jacob deGrom is the face of the team, not him – and as such, Alonso would be wise to follow as a quiet show-by-example team leader.
When Pete Alonso shattered the record for home runs by a rookie and won the Home Run Derby in 2019, whether he wanted to or not, he put himself in the crosshairs of constant media attention.
For the most part, Pete Alonso has handled it well, even going to the extreme of taking down his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Recently, he’s also talked intelligently and in a mature manner about his chosen profession as a ballplayer, noting he is not a lawyer or a welder with unlimited years ahead in his career.
Pete Alonso Had To Know…
Pete Alonso had to know his comments about a “conspiracy” in baseball that is engineered by MLB itself altering the baseball to suit the content of each year’s free-agent class, so the top players have to accept less money because of their resulting poor seasons – he had to know it would not go unnoticed.
Accordingly, Alonso could not have been surprised the Mets didn’t let it go, with Acting GM Zack Scott taking his place as the face of the team’s front office.
Actually, Scott too it easy on Pete Alonso, pretty much laughing the charge off.
“I didn’t know Pete was a conspiracy theorist,” Scott said with a laugh, per The Associated Press. “The way teams value and evaluate performance is relative to levels, so we’re not going to be fooled by offense is way up or way down.”
But the charge made by Alonso is serious, and if it were ever proven true, baseball would be turned on its heels with a scandal far worse than steroids, “sticky stuff,” and even the shenanigans that went on in Houston.
There Is A Better Way, Pete
In sum, Pete Alonso, who has less than 1,000 career at-bats, needs to earn his stripes in this league before making statements like the one he did.
If Alonso sees wrong and he wants to be a leader in fixing problems, there is a ready-made vehicle for him to do so by getting involved with his union (the MLBPA), the appropriate and only official agency with authority to sit with MLB at the negotiating table.
I like Pete Alonso; I like him a lot. Like most fans, I am drawn to his youthful enthusiasm and intensity – complete with the ripping off of shirts as a celebration.
But the media can be pirana at times. If they get the notion a certain player is apt to make an off-the-cuff remark that will give them a headline-making story, they’ll be there to drop the bait.
Perhaps a sign that Pete Alonso has been alerted to Scott, Sandy Alderson, or even one or two of his teammates has refrained from making further comments.
But the best advice is the one Pete Alonso gave himself, which is to simply play baseball with all you have because time is precious…
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Steven Hirsch No politics- just win!!!
Sampson Thedawg I adore Pete but he was out of line. Hopefully, it was a learning experience not to be repeated.
Jason Palancia Shame of it is he is most likely correct.
Mark Anthony Ramirez I had no problem with anything Alonso said. In fact, Johnny Bench, Will Clark, and others have said similar things backing up what Pete said. Also, it’s well known that since MLB started making the balls themselves they’ve kept altering it. Tightening and lowering the seems to make it harder for pitchers to get a good grip on the ball. It’s MLB’s fault that players feel this way and are expressing these things. If we’re going to call out Pete without calling out Manfred and MLB we’re being a bit unfair. Players have zero control on what MLB is doing to alter the game.
Carlos F. Encalada It’s a free country. Not everything he says has to be what everybody wants to hear 
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
