Rookie first baseman for the NY Mets, Pete Alonso has gone to places no rookie has ever gone before. Only 6 months ago Mets ownership was debating whether to put Alonso on the Opening Day Roster. Turns out that this move has paid off tremendously as Pete Alonso went on to have one of the best rookie seasons in the history of Major League Baseball.
Pete Alonso was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. He went to high school there where he starred as a third baseman. He then changed to first base when he went off to college at the University of Florida. (The Gators). While there he had the privilege of playing in the College World Series. In 2016, he was drafted in the 2nd round by the New York Mets. After he was drafted he tore it up in the minor leagues particularly in 2018 when he was selected to be part of the Futures Game. The writer of this article was fortunate enough to watch this game and saw just how much potential he had when he hit a towering majestic home run. This gave Mets fans the confidence that Alonso was special and that he could perform when the lights shine brightest. It also inspired confidence in Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen. According to https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26373499/touted-rookie-1b-alonso-mets-roster.
“He showed us, and he certainly showed his teammates, that … he earned it,” Van Wagenen said of Alonso. As for whether the team was tempted to have Alonso start the season in the minors, the GM added: “I do want to focus on winning games. Let’s win as many as we can, as early as we can in the season. And I’m not of the mindset that we should be sacrificing the best product for the fans and the best product for the other 24 guys in that clubhouse to save service time or potential future money six years down the road.”
This bold move paid off in a hurry. Alonso went on to tear up the league right from the get go. There was no transition period. He showed consistency too as we went on to league all of Major League Baseball with a whopping 53 home runs! He also broke the Mets all time single season franchise record! And to top it all off he won the Home Run Derby at the All Star Game. The Mets and their fans embraced him for many reasons and gave him the nickname the (Polar Bear). You never know he could end up succeeding David Wright as the new Mets captain!
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26373499/touted-rookie-1b-alonso-mets-roster
Data Journalism 395 