Mets' Pete Alonso reiterates love for New York, desire to 'bring a championship here'
After the announcement of the departure of manager Buck Showalter, the Mets’ defeat in their season finale and ahead of the introduction of David Stearns as the club’s new president of baseball operations, Pete Alonso was asked about his future with the organization.
“Listen, I love the city of New York,” the first baseman began his answer when asked if he was open to discussing an extension if the Mets approach him about one.
“This place has treated me so well and it’s a really special place. The fans are so passionate. There are some amazing people here in this clubhouse. I really, thoroughly enjoyed my time here and this place has been incredible. And I love it here,” Alonso said after Sunday’s 9-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Yeah, I love it here,” he added. “It’s been awesome and some of the best memories in my life have been here. So this is home for me right now.”
Alonso would enter free agency after the 2024 season without a contract extension. Earlier in September, a report said that the first baseman was seeking a 10-year deal for his next contract which was met with a statement from general manager Billy Eppler refuting the report.
At the time, Alonso said that he was not thinking about his contract and was "concentrating on the season and performing at the highest level that I can perform." With the season over, the 28-year-old and the Mets will obviously turn their attention to his status.
Alonso, who went 0-for-4 in the season finale, got an ovation from the Citi Field crowd before his final at-bat in the ninth inning, something he called “really special.”
“It’s fans showing their appreciation and it’s really, really tremendous because we put a lot collectively as a group and personally. I put a lot and this team has put a lot of work and effort to putting their best foot forward and perform to the best of our abilities and to have that ovation and applause before that at-bat was awesome,” he said. “It was really appreciated.”
Speaking about his season on a personal level, Alonso felt it was the best defensive season he had in his career in addition to “driving in a bunch of runs and hitting a bunch of homers.”
“I think I had a really good season and moving forward I wanna be able to keep having good seasons so I can help this team win a championship,” he said of his 46-homer, 118-RBI season. “This is a really special group of players in this locker room, this is a really special fan base and I wanna keep putting together good seasons so I can bring a championship here."
