Key Highlights
- “I can’t exaggerate how much the excitement is in Baltimore for this.“People I didn’t even remember, from sixth grade sending me emails.
- I’m really happy for Baltimore, for Pete and his family.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWinners and losers of Pete Alonso deal: Orioles reborn, Mets caught slippingIn New York, Alonso practically had to beg for a job the past two winters, signing a short-term deal with an opt out in February when his first foray into free agency resulted in insufficient offers – and no real inclination from his own team to retain him, at least not until a summit meeting with owner Steve Cohen just before spring training. In Baltimore, the billboards along I-95 and down Russell Street trumpet the most significant free agent signing in franchise history: Polar Pete Is Here!And Alonso, a man who may very well be halfway to Cooperstown, is, rather than trying to fight for scraps that $765 million man Juan Soto left behind in the team bank account, drawing comparisons to another Hall of Famer: Frank Robinson, whose trade from Cincinnati to Baltimore before the 1966 season preceded the young Orioles’ stunning defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPressure?
- Heck, Rubenstein, a high schooler when those Orioles won it all, isn’t paying Alonso $31 million over five seasons to shirk from comparisons, crazy that they may be.“Frank Robinson’s number when he played in Cincinnati was 20.
- Pete Alonso’s number in New York was 20,” says Rubenstein.
- “Both of them 30 (years old), both of them great power hitters, both with the ability to work with young hitters.“We’re very optimistic Pete’s addition is going to be as helpful to us as Frank Robinson’s in 1966.”Yep, those are the expectations Alonso faces, even if they don’t land like they do in New York, with the massive media presence and the stakes constantly raised by hedge fund kingpin Cohen. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet what kind of destination is Citi Field now, after the Mets’ very conscious choice to ghost Alonso, let closer Edwin Diaz walk to the World Series champion Dodgers and trade Brandon Nimmo?Do the Mets have a plan?