Fifty-seven years, and not one home-grown, bona fide, Hall of Fame caliber, superstar hitter. (Sorry Darryl and David, not quite.) Never an MVP, not even an imported one. Is the wait finally over? Don't want to jinx him, and he's got a long way to go, but Pete's got the markings. Let's go Pete!
2
The NYT took a long time to shine a spotlight on him. If he played for a British soccer team, the NYT would have had a long column on him much earlier.
7
Making the "major league minimum!"
Is this why the Mets didn't call Alonso up last year?
Keep another player down on the pay scale and bring him up a year later, when he's even better, and you can take maximum advantage of him without paying him?
The "differences" he should have with Mets ownership should focus on the relatively indentured servitude they're putting him through ($550k is a lot to most of us; but it's not a fair wage for a baseball star - and the Mets are paying him that now because of what they did to him last year- he's 24, not a teenager).
Alonso is a genuine local marvel. Mets ownership follows in the proud tradition of Trump and other slippery characters.
2
A breath of fresh air for the team,and great to watch.ive been amet fan for 52 years and he is already one of my favorite mets
1
I love Pete Alonso, but the opening two paragraphs of this story are factually incorrect. The Mets opened the season in Washington, DC, not at home. They didn't play at Citi Field until April. I don't understand why the story would get into the details of seat sections when it wasn't possible to have taken place there.
@Jeff L Since the first game each year at home, whether it's the first game of the season or not, is called the "home opener," it is possible that the only error in the paragraph is the month. The home opener was in April as you say. But the rest could be accurate.
1
I guess some editors at the Times have read enough Associated Press game stories to make them take notice of Pete Alonso. The Times has long treated the Mets and their fans as second-class citizens; over the years, it seems it's been a policy to put a rookie or a newcomer on the Mets beat, and once that writer has established himself (it's always a him), he moves "up" to the Yankees, or on to another sport. Often, prior to this season, many games were covered by the AP. This season, the number seems to have been ratcheted up: I don't know this for certain, but if feels like more games have been covered by the AP than by the Times. I realize that the Times is a national paper, but it's also a NY paper and there is a team in the city not named the Yankees. And Mets fans actually read the Times -- though many of us now turn to other outlets for baseball coverage.
16
@Sheryl So true. Each summer, I keep my eye on how many times the Yankees are first in the coverage vs. the Mets (if they are covered). The Yankees always get more inches.
5
I wish this story had been written by Michael Powell.
4
Still heartbroken over D. Wright's need to retire early, but the Polar Bear, or as Howie Rose calls him 'Thunder Pete,' is helping me move on. Between him and The Squirrel, though the team is underachieving as per usual, they're still fun to watch each night. I hope he hits one a loooooong way fair at Yankee Stadium!
2
Thanks to this article I am now a Peter Alonso fan. I'll root for him for the rest of his career. And best of everything to Peter and his fiancee.
2
I used to think rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for General Motors. Now, rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Walmart.
2
Anything the Wilpon’s do right with the NY Mets is generally a matter of happenstance.
Hope they sell the team.
Let’s Go Met’s!
8
“For yankee fans just tuning in...”
I’m glad the nyt is finally admitting that their baseball stories are written for yankee fans.
Its been obvious for years.
Oh, and I love the reference to
“Nightly viewers of the team’s long running tragicomedy”.
And “much needed mirth”.
I guess
We can’t all be yankee fans,
Born on third base and thinking they hit a triple.
21
Not all Yankee fans are PJ fans. This one is. I beg to differ. But it’s a cool reference.
@bugsy Spot on. Media bias against the Mets is obvious. I'm really tired of the snarky tone of the coverage. As if Met fans aren't reading this stuff.
1