According to Alonso, he never wanted to go anywhere else. “For me, this was it,” Alonso said. “I mean, throughout the entire off-season, we had the best dialogue from the Mets. And, like, that was it. For us, this was the best opportunity. And for me, I’m just really happy to be back.”

Over the past nine years, Pete Alonso has developed relationships with hundreds of players and dozens of coaches in the Mets organization. He has come to know trainers, public relations staffers and front office members.