For Mets’ Alonso Charity Begins at Home Run-Powered Salary
New York Mets slugging first baseman Pete Alonso is back in Monday’s Home Run Derby at T-Mobile ballpark in Seattle a night prior to the annual All-Star Game.
“I’m very excited about it,” Alonso said in an interview this week. “It’s an honor, and I’m just happy to participate. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was kid, but you know what? It’s fun. It’s a super-fun event.”
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Not only does Alonso love participating, but he’s used some of the prize money to donate to causes like first responders and Wounded Warriors. It became a jumping-off point for he and his wife, Haley, to form a charitable organization called the Alonso Foundation.
The winner of the Derby takes home prize money of $1 million. The second-place finisher now earns $750,000.
Alonso won in 2019 in Cleveland and again in 2021 in Denver. Last year at Dodger Stadium he was bested by several players, including winner Juan Soto, now with the San Diego Padres. Julio Rodríguez, then a rookie with the Seattle Mariners, finished second.
When Alonso won in 2019, he was a rookie with a minimum base salary of $555,000, so the prize was nearly double his earnings. His first check from the victory, for $50,000, went to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which helps the families of first responders in New York who died in the act of doing their jobs as fire fighters or police officers.
“That’s something my wife and I always take seriously,” Alonso said. “We always want to give back.”
Alonso repeated the feat two years later, but his salary had only climbed to $676,775. When Rodriguez finished second last year, the prize money basically matched his rookie salary of the now accelerated rate of $700,000.
Alonso’s participating again this year despite struggling at the plate. He was hit on the left wrist with a pitch thrown by Atlanta’s Charlie Morton in early June and missed 10 days. Overall, he’s hitting .218 with 26 homers and 61 RBIs. He clearly hasn’t been pleased by his offensive output.
“I’ll feel a lot better when I start hitting again,” he said.
In real life, he’s already hit 172 regular-season homers in his career.
Alonso, 28, is not on a long-term contract. This year he was arbitration eligible and is making $14.5 million. That’s seventh highest on a Mets team that has a Major League Baseball record player payroll of $356.2 million for luxury tax purposes.
If he wins the $1 million again at T-Mobile, the Alonso Foundation will be the big benefactor.
“The Derby helps us put on events and raise money and give back to communities in New York, Florida and abroad,” Alonso said.
One such event occurred this past January, when Alonso hosted a home run derby for youngsters in the Tampa area on the field at Plant High School, where he attended and played ball. A group of 60 kids from little leagues, travel squads and softball teams participated and 1,800 attended. The proceeds established an annual grant to the city of Tampa to clean up and create youth playing fields.
The foundation’s Homers For Heroes initiative recognizes doctors and nurses, among others, in the community who worked long hours during the pandemic and are still aiding patients. Alonso pledged this kind of money after winning that first Home Run Derby and he has followed through.
“We do a lot with animal rescue. We do a lot for first responders and families who are in need because of people who lost their lives in the line of duty,” Alonso said. “We just try to do the best we can in all aspects and for people who have been affected.”
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