The Mets haven’t been making a lot of news recently. Despite boasting the highest payroll in baseball, the Mets were unable to put anything together this year. They traded Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline, and essentially punted the rest of this year. There hasn’t been much of a reason to watch them recently, except for the recent Pete Alonso drama.
Alonso found himself at the center of trade rumors after the deadline. The rumor came out that the Mets will look to trade Alonso this offseason, before he hits free agency next fall. With the Mets roster in a state of limbo, it makes sense that they might attempt to recoup assets. Apparently Alonso didn’t like this news. He decided he was done catching pop fly’s if the team wants to trade him.
As a Phillies fan, Alonso has always annoyed me. We can critique his corny, pre-Home Run Derby routine of hammering some deadlifts. But I just find him to be a whiny guy overall. This new development from Alonso is nothing short of pathetic. In last night’s game, a pop fly was hit right behind first base, a routine play for Alonso. He never even took a step in the direction of the ball. Instead, Jeff McNeil ran all the way over from second to catch the ball.
In recent memory, there have been countless athletes who feel the need to put their career over the success of their team. Most of the time, this takes the form of a holdout. There are varying degrees of selfishness, ranging from the understandable holdouts of NFL running backs, to the childish antics of Ben Simmons. Either way, there has never been an instance of a player actively trying to get in the way of his team.
Clearly, Alonso thinks he’s good as long as he can still show teams he can hit. He just showed the entire league that he doesn’t care about the name on his jersey, unless they are doing what’s best for him. Pete Alonso is a fully grown child with a beer belly. I hope he stays on the Mets, because he is going to divide that locker room down the middle.
