It's Pete Alonso now -- that's what the Mets prospect wants to be called from here on out. And he explained why after his first Spring Training exhibition game on Saturday afternoon.
Mets PR announced the name change on Thursday, as Alonso joined Yankees Zach Britton who changed his name to Zack this season. Alonso explained that Peter just feels too formal, and he wants to break down that barrier.
"It's one of those things that everyone calls me Pete in the clubhouse, everyone on the coaching staff," he said. "Pretty much if anyone sees me out on the street or something like that, everyone calls me Pete. So I just think it's good to be on a first-name basis like that. It's more informal. I think I'm very approachable and I think I'm a nice guy. So anyone can call me Pete."
It should be a problem for anyone to mix that up this season, but Twitter already has. Alonso changed his handle to "@pete_alonso20," and in doing so, he lost his verification. But Alonso is going to make sure he gets that blue check mark back.
"I mean I want to, but I'm gonna lose the verification if I change it," he said before making the switch. "But I want to keep that blue check mark, so I need to get with the Mets people so when I switch it so I don't lose the verification thing."
Getting back to baseball, though, Alonso had himself a great Spring Training debut. In fact, the first pitch he saw went over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer.
.@PeterAlonso20 to the DEEPEST part of the ballpark 💪 pic.twitter.com/g2vWqmMchZ
- SNY (@SNYtv) February 23, 2019
"I felt really good," Alonso said of his first at-bat. "I had a nice, short, compact swing -- I mean, the ball went for me so it felt really good."
The home run was so clutch at the time, with it tying the game at two runs apiece. Alonso made the perfect first impression to the Mets to kick off the new year, and he wants to continue making these types of plays to show the Mets he can make an immediate impact this season.
"I just want to help this team win and show that I can do that," he said.