How’s that for a first impression.
Pete Alonso may have shortened his name, but it hasn’t affected his home runs from traveling a long way. The Mets first baseman, who is trying to win the starting job, hit a long two-run homer to centerfield in his first at-bat of spring training on Saturday at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie. The blast came in the bottom of the second inning off Braves pitcher Touki Toussaint to tie the score 2-2.
Alonso, who earlier in the week said he will now go by Pete and not Peter, is competing with Todd Frazier, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis – who scored on the home run – for the first-base job. Alonso hit 36 homers last season between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas, but the Mets want to see an improvement in his defense.
Alonso wasn’t the only budding New York baseball star to start his spring with a home run.
Gleyber Torres blasted a solo home run to centerfield in his first – and the Yankees’ second at-bat of the spring at JetBlue Park in Lee County, Fla. The homer came off of Red Sox pitcher Josh Smith with one out in the first inning and Greg Bird added a double off the wall two batters later.