Good Conversation: Peter Alonso
The power hitting Mets prospect on playing in the cold, getting motivation from Mike Piazza, and his message to Mets fans.
Recorded on June 3, 2018. Edited for clarity. Pretty much all of the minor leaguers mentioned have since been promoted up one level.
Roger: Our next guest is the inspiration behind West Bank Gourmet Deli’s ‘We Need Alonso’ sandwich, which is made up of chicken cutlets, bacon, potato chip crunches, peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. He was also recently included in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list, after earning Eastern League Player of the Month honors for his April dominance in Double-A. He also was the recipient of the Eastern League Player of the Week award in that month, or as the New York Mets official game notes put it: ‘Alonso is EL POW.’ Sure enough, according to our guest’s wikipedia page, at least at this very moment in time, his one and only nickname is ‘EL POW.’ Folks, it’s Peter, sorry Pete, Alonso.
Peter: Thank you for having me. I just think EL POW, it’s a cool thing. I just think it’s kind of funny because someone just said it on Twitter and it kind of stuck, so I think we’re going to have to keep that one.
Brian: Yeah that ‘somebody’ was Roger.
Peter: Yeah, well, I like it. It’s fun.
Brian: Wait, Roger, will you cop to editing his Wikipedia page*?
Roger: I swear it was not me. I don’t even know how to edit a Wikipedia page although I assume it’s pretty easy. I was looking it up today just to do some research and I was just overjoyed that it has caught on enough that somebody else did it.
*The nickname fact has since been taken down.
Peter: Well some awesome Mets fan decided to do it, so I mean, that’s awesome.
Brian: Well it’s super nice to meet you Peter. And I guess you’re going to get to know sooner then later that Mets fans are incredibly passionate, incredibly knowledgeable, and can really make a player feel at home when things are going well. *laughs*
Peter: Absolutely. I look forward to that. I kind of have a taste of that already. The year before I got drafted I got to watch the 2015 World Series and kind of just see the atmosphere on TV, and that’s something that was really really attractive because all those games on TV were just super super rowdy, and just looked super fun. One moment that, I mean there were just so many… Daniel Murphy took over that entire playoff run. I remember Conforto he had like a huge home run, Granderson balled out during that time too during the World Series. Obviously you got Harvey, Syndergaard, deGrom throwing well to get everybody to that point. That was really cool to watch. I mean that environment, that passion from the fans was just evident. So I’m looking forward to playing in front of them one day later on down the road.
Roger: When do you think that is because right now they can really, really, really use you. I cannot stress this enough, particularly against left handed pitching. And I don’t know how you are handling this because you’re not that far away physically from Citi Field. You can literally take a train and an Uber and you can be at Citi Field tomorrow. What’s stopping you from just walking into Mickey Callaway’s office tomorrow and saying, ‘Hey, you’re savior’s here’ and just seeing what happens?
Peter: Well uh…a lot of things…*laughs*
Brian: By the way don’t do that.
Peter: Well actually now that you said that I think I’m going to do it. Nah I’m kidding.
Some days the big league seems so, so close. Let’s say if I have a really, really amazing series, just having good results like that… at baseball you’re not going to be successful every day, but every time I have a really good game, or put together a string of at-bats together for a week or two at a time, or whether if I have a good month or not, so far it has been a pretty two good months. It seems really close. The more that the season goes on, I get more and more motivated every day, because like I know it’s close. I mean there’s a sandwich named after me…I guess there’s some Mets fans that are kind of skeptical, but I mean there’s also some that are really excited and see what I’m doing. When I get a chance I hope to show Mets Nation that I can help, and just do what I can to help the team win just by being who I am and being Pete.
Brian: So you were drafted in the second round by the Mets in 2016, and you were assigned to Brooklyn, so you played for the Cyclones for a little while and you’ve worked your way up the minor league chain up to St. Lucie. You’re currently in Binghamton, and the reason why that the fans are clamoring for you to be promoted is because you are currently hitting .339/.461/.627 in Double-A. This is not a fluke; you have pretty much, to put it lightly, you’ve been able to get to the point where you are dominating each level that you’ve been at. You really hit well in St. Lucie. You also hit really well in Brooklyn, and a lot of people who listen to the podcast live in New York, so some of us, myself included, got to see you play in Brooklyn. I saw you hit the longest…it wasn’t a home run unfortunately…
Peter: Oh I know what you’re talking about.
Brian: Really?
Peter: I absolutely hammered this ball and then the umpire called it foul because he didn’t know where it went.
Brian: Yeah it was like a 450 foot something down the left field line. I thought was out but apparently it was foul.
Peter: I know which one you’re talking about. I’m still a little salty about it.
Brian: Anyway, you know you’re a second round pick and we were excited about you at the time, and since then, you know it can kind of go any direction. And then you’ve done very, very well. So that’s why people are excited to see what you can do, and Roger mentioned you’re geographically close to New York and you wouldn’t be the first guy to the Mets called up directly from Binghamton.
Roger: That would be Michael “Scooter” Conforto whom Brian was referring to from 2015, but that was July 23, I think? But similar situation where the offense is just not clicking in the pros and they might have to call upon you know, their best bat in the system. And I’m sure you’re aware of all that.
Brian: Do you follow what happens with the major league team or are you mostly involved in the day to day at Binghamton?
Peter: I try the best that I possibly can to not even to watch the major league games. Whatever happens there, I can’t think about it.
I’m not going lie, it’s really hard not to look, but personally I’d rather just kind of go about my work. We got an off-day tomorrow and we are traveling to Harrisburg on Tuesday morning. That’s where my mind needs to be, and I just need to keep concentrating on who I am facing now, and then just trying to be the best player I can be every day, and just by me doing that — I mean if the chips are going to fall in the right spot, that’s later on down the road. For right now, I can’t think about here and now and be upset or salty. The best I can do is just kind of, ‘You know what? I’m going to dominate each day and I’m going to do the best I can’. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to watch the opposing pitcher, and I’m just going to get myself better because I want to be ready when that time comes when I get a call one day, hopefully.
Brian: You’re not the GM, we’re not going to ask you what you think about when it’s going to happen. As long as you keep doing the right thing it will happen for sure, and we’re looking forward to it.
So you’re a Florida guy. You went to college in Florida. How do you like Binghamton? *laughs*
Peter: Well it was cold as hell to start.
Brian: It’s so cold.
Peter: I’ve never played in snow before and…
Brian: Did you this year?
Peter: I did, probably about five times.
Roger: What do you think of Rowdy the Pony? He’s annoying right?
Peter: No, Rowdy’s awesome! He’s the most major mascot in the minor leagues! Haven’t you heard?
Roger: Oh God that sounds like a slogan or something.
Peter: Yeah I hear it every day at the stadium.
Roger: Oh they got to you man, you’re brainwashed! We had a little Twitter beef last year.
Peter: Oh God…
Roger: I was blocked by Rowdy the Pony for four hours. It was an odd day. I actually went to Binghamton last year — this was before you showed up — and we hugged it out and he immediately owned me on Twitter so, I’m not the biggest fan of the horse creature…
Peter: Well he doesn’t run his Twitter account…
Roger: *gasps* Actually that makes sense because he sometimes wears boxing gloves, and he tweeted right away. You really opened up my eyes EL POW I really appreciate it. I have a lot of soul searching to do. So thank you.
Peter: You’re welcome. *laughs*
Brian: So Binghamton is treating you well?. What do you guys do there?
Peter: I mean mostly baseball, sleep, go to the field and play a game. It’s pretty much all we do. But last off-day we had, which was a while ago, me and my girlfriend went up to the Finger Lakes, and we brought our little puppy and we went to a winery where they are dog friendly. We had a good time and we got to sample some wine and let the pup run around. They had like a lot of land so he really enjoyed the freedom and there was other dogs there so he got to play around, so it was a nice relaxing off day.
Roger: Is that your dog or your girlfriend’s dog or you just found a dog and…
Peter: It’s our dog. His name is Brody and he’s a French Bulldog.
Roger: Oh well tell Brody ‘Hello.’ 13/10.
Brian: Have you ever watched John Mulaney’s stand-up routine?
Peter: Oh yes I have. With Petunia?
Brian: Yes! In his new routine he talks about how he and his wife have a stroller for the dog because it has a French Bulldog and can’t breathe very well.
Peter: And then people walk up thinking it’s a baby? I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Brian: They look inside and see a gargoyle instead.
Roger: Ok so Pete, what I like about you, one of the many things I like about you is usually, even with Mets players that we respect and contemporary ballplayers we respect, whenever they say that their favorite player growing up was Derek Jeter, I die a little inside. But you said that your idol growing up, and correct me if I’m wrong, is Mike Piazza.
Peter: Derek Jeter, I’m not going to lie to you, was one of my favorites. Everyone loved Derek Jeter. That’s like saying ‘Michael Jordan sucks.’ Everyone loves Jordan.
But I mean Mike Piazza, I used to catch back in the day. Watching him play in the late 90s early 2000s, that’s when he really came into his own, when he with the Mets, and that’s when he absolutely dominated and I loved it. I was a power-hitting catcher and so was he, and I saw a lot of parallels, and I just thought he was awesome.
Brian: What was your team?
Peter: I didn’t have a team actually.
Brian: You’re from Tampa?
Peter: I watched the Rays. I hoped they won but it wasn’t a big deal.
Roger: Well that was fortunate.
Peter: I enjoyed playing the game, I just loved watching all baseball. When I got older one of the guys that I loved watching was Paul Konerko. Totally random with the Mets and Chicago White Sox, but I saw those guys just do incredible, incredible things and I just admired that just from watching baseball all the time.
Brian: Konerko is super underrated.
Peter: He hit 400 plus home runs, unbelievable first base. Got a ring. I’m kind of surprised and a little upset that he’s not on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Roger: Well maybe someday. But Piazza is in the Hall of Fame, and you met him in spring training. What was it like to meet your idol?
Peter: Yeah so a little background: In 2017 I was in minor league camp, and he came over and gave like a hitting talk. People are asking questions and stuff like that and everything that he was saying is stuff that I tried to do. It was just crazy just from a mental approach, he’s just like ‘You can’t think about anything, it’s just mano a mano, and you’re trying to hit the ball as hard as you can.’ It’s like ‘I’m sure there’s plenty of guys in this room that can do it, and there’s plenty of you guys who can’t, but for me it’s like when I hit the ball hard I found my own holes, you can create your own holes, and just by hitting the ball hard good things happen’. You can’t worry about, you mentioned like nowadays, so many people are worried about launch angles, ferris wheel, ice cream scoop loads…
Brian: Whoa whoa whoa, what?
Peter: Listen to Baseball Tonight, listen to some people talk, it’s asinine what they say about hitting. But that’s another story.
Brian: Some of the greatest hitters of all-time like Manny Ramirez for instance, he would just say openly he’d be like: ‘I never think of anything at all.’ He’s like ‘I just see ball, hit ball.’
Peter: ‘See ball, hit ball.’ Exactly. And then to hear that come right out of Mike Piazza’s mouth…because there’s a lot of people that are really calculated when they hit and they think a lot, and that’s great for them, but for me I can’t do it. Every time I try and think too much in the box, I’m out.
So to hear that and hear what his thought process was, that was tangible justification. He’s like ‘This is what I did’. It’s like ‘Wow, I do the same thing!’ And then me and him talked about it next year. We were taking BP before the field before one of the games, and then he just walks up behind the cage, and then I take my round or whatever and it was a good round and he’s like ‘Hey man that’s a good swing, that was a really good round.’ And I thought, “Holy shit.”
Brian: That is cool as hell.
Roger: Internal screaming.
Peter: I went up to him and said ‘Hey, growing up I was one of your biggest fans. Last year I was there for the talk you gave the minor league side and I want to say thank you, and all of that stuff that you said, or most of the stuff you said that was super, super cool’. I got to talk to him two or three times for a good amount of time.
I asked him ‘When you got to the big leagues, how did you become successful?’ Because in order to become a big leaguer, you have to stand out on every single level in the minor leagues, but for whatever reason the big leagues is a lot different, because you’re playing against not just young studs that get called up with you and move along with you, but you’re playing against guys that, there’s no other higher level, that’s the highest level, you’re playing against guys you watched growing up, and it’s not only intimidating but it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m here.’ How did you overcome that hump? Or that mental roadblock?
So he’s just like, ‘You know what? What helped me was that I hit at every level I’ve been. I just started to believe and act like I belonged. I deserved to be there. I was the best player at every single level, and I deserve it and I belong.’ He said once he said it out loud and acted on it, and once he had that inner belief of I really do belong, that’s when it clicks. ‘You know what? I can really do this. I can compete and be successful.’
Brian: That must be one of the comforting things. You are a prospect currently, and you have no control over what happens to you now. But baseball especially compared to other sports is really a meritocracy right? Like you can point to the scoreboard and you can say this is what I’ve done. And you deserve to be promoted until you don’t do that anymore. Right?
Peter: Yeah. I mean for me, I just have to keep performing and I just have to keep competing at a high level. Even from when I was three years old I always wanted to be a baseball player. My first word was ‘ball’.
Brian: No way.
Peter: Yeah. My mom wouldn’t lie to me.
So my first word was ‘ball’ and then my preschool teacher had a project: What do you want to be when you grow up? I said I want to be a baseball player and an astronaut. I failed calculus my freshman year of college, so I’m a baseball player.
Roger: Well I mean that’s great because I don’t think that NASA is really going to the moon anytime soon, so, you know, it worked out. You chose correctly.
So EL POW, this might be a stupid question because I think it’s an obvious question, but I don’t hear people asking this to prospects or ballplayers: What was it like to switch from aluminum bats after 15 years, from Little League to college, to wooden bats? Was there a tough transition to that or right away you’re like: Oh that will also work and this will be fine?
Peter: Believe or not I hated the BBCOR bats in college. I hated them because you can only order a certain dimension, like a cookie-cutter bat. For wooden bats, I can order from hundreds and hundreds of different bat models. This handle feels this way, this handle feels that way, you can personalize it or you can personalize it back to where it feels the best way.
I have a couple of models that I swing that are pretty similar but they all feel different from the bat I swung in college, and high school all the tournaments were wood bats. I swung a wooden bat in the cages since I was like 8 or 9 years old just for practice. In high school with the BSR bats, we called those lightning rod bats.
Brian: They were made illegal right?
Peter: They’re illegal now, yeah. I just did not like the BBCOR because I can absolutely unleash on a ball, and hit it dead on the sweet spot, but it’s not going to go. With a wood bat, it’s true. If you hit it on the sweet spot, it’s going to stay true.
Brian: Was your first competition with the wood bat, the real competition after high school in Cape Cod?
Peter: It was in high school. There’s huge travel ball tournaments where a bunch of different college coaches go around the country recruiting at certain tournaments like East Cobb. All those showcases were with wood bats. So I competitively started hitting wood bats when I was I think 15? Because that’s how I guess colleges can see ‘Ok, how is he going to transition from BBCOR bat from the BESR bat?’ But now it’s BBCOR all the way through, but back in the day when I was in high school that was the difference maker. ‘Ok, if he could hit with the wood bat, he’ll be able to hit in college because that’s what separates the men from the weak.’
Brian: There’s some guys who will only scout the wood bat leagues because they say with the aluminum you can’t really tell.
Peter: Right. All those high school tournaments and all those travel tournaments were wood bat, and that really helped me later on. I had tremendous success my freshman summer in the Northwoods League with the wood bat so it’s something that I feel like I’ve been doing for a really long time. And in college I swung with a wood bat in the cage too.
It’s something I’ve always done and it seems seamless. Now in pro ball I get to swing the bat the way I want weight-wise and length-wise. You can get really specific with the dimensions.
Brian: I wasn’t planning on bringing this up but I’m actually looking at the alumni for Henry Plant High School where you went, and you have one particularly important guy who went there: Wade Boggs.
Peter: Yeah, also we got Preston Tucker.
Brian: First round draft pick.
Peter: That’s Kyle Tucker, the older brother Preston is with the Braves. Kyle is a first rounder, who is in Triple-A right now, who is tearing it up. Jake Woodford who is in Double-A, he’s a first rounder, Tucker’s year. He’s going to be a rising star.
Brian: So you played with Jake and Kyle?
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: Did you ever lose?
Peter: Yes we did.
Brian: Your high school team had three potential future major league ballplayers and you lost?
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: Did you have to face good pitching?
Peter: Yeah, Tyler Danish pitched in the first game of the playoffs, who is a big leaguer.
Roger: Tyler Danish? That’s quite a name.
Peter: Yeah, we got danished.
Roger: Florida high schools, they are very competitive with baseball, it’s a loaded state in that regard.
Peter: Yeah. You guys know who Mychal Givens is?
Brian: Orioles?
Peter: Yeah, he’s a Plant grad too.
Brian: Who’s your best friend in baseball? Is he on your team now or is it some kid you knew from somewhere else?
Peter: Best friend in baseball. That’s a tough one…
Roger: You don’t want to offend anyone…
Brian: We’re not putting you on the spot here but I think a lot of people might assume that the best players on any particular team hang out together, but I’m not going to assume that you’re necessarily hanging out with Jeff McNeil only, you know?
Peter: I’m really good buddies with Justin Dunn. I mean we were in Brooklyn together and were in St. Lucie last year together and we bonded. We bonded a lot over the past couple of seasons. Anyone I’ve come across in high school, I’m good buddies with Tucker and guys who I have worked out with.There’s so many guys because the baseball world is so small and I feel bad just saying one guy, but I mean there’s so many people that I played against in high school and in college that are out there now like Jake Robson, he plays for Erie in Double-A, we were on the same Cape team and Michael Paez, he knocked us out in the College World Series.
Brian: Didn’t hold it against him?
Peter: I don’t hold it against him, because you know what, if we lost, we might as well lose to the champions*. I mean I’m still salty about it, but I’m happy for him. I got guys everywhere. Guys like Jake Woodford and Kyle Tucker, who I played two years with in high school.
*Coastal Carolina
Brian: Nobody on the Rumble Ponies that you forced to go on the Finger Lakes wine tour?
Peter: No, it was just a me and the girlfriend thing. We do all hang out together and stuff. We got a really good group of guys, and also when all the girlfriends are in town it’s nice because we all get together and go out to eat and stuff and we got a really, really good group and really happy for it. Ponies are hot right now too.
Roger: Do they make you pay for everything because they are like ‘Oh come on Pete you’re going to be in the pros before any of us’?
Peter: What do you mean, we’re already in the pros. Minor leaguers are pros.
Roger: I’m sorry! I’m sure you knew what I meant EL POW.
Peter: I know I’m just joshing you.
Roger: EL POW, who is your best friend in podcasting?
Peter: Dan LaMorte.
Brian: You actually know each other?
Peter: I think it kind of started on Twitter. I think I saw his stand-up. He was on Twitter; I think he added me. I looked at his page and he is hysterical. But for all the people, if there’s any kids that are listening to the podcast: don’t do it, or make sure you ask your parents first before you go on his page to listen to his stand-up because it’s PG-13 at the least.
Roger: Is he the one who came up with the sandwich?
Peter: Yeah. I would highly suggest that you guys go on iTunes or Apple Music and listen to his standup. It’s unbelievable.
Roger: Pete, if you were commissioner of baseball for ten minutes and you can change one rule, or just come up with a brand new rule, what would it be?
Peter: Get rid of the new rules.
Brian: Oh I like that.
Roger: Any of the new rules? Or just…all of them?
Peter: Baseball has been the same since the Civil War. I think it’s a perfect game. Whether you’re Aaron Judge or Jose Altuve, their difference is a foot and 100 pounds. They’re still on the top of their game and still extremely successful. I think it’s a perfect game because everyone’s on the same playing level. Everything’s even. It’s just pure competition and I don’t think it needs to be manipulated or changed. I guess I’m very traditional when it comes to that. I was a history major in college, and I liked the game I’ve watched growing up that I’ve played. In Little League there is no pitch clock, or high school, or anything like that. There’s no pitch clock. You’re just playing the game.
Brian: I like this guy.
Roger: So you’re cool with as many mound visits as possible? As much as you want?
Peter: That’s just gamesmanship. The manager or pitching coach should go out there in a big spot, or if the pitcher is peeing down his leg, or if the hitter is going bananas and needs to be talked to, or whenever the defense is not on the same page, or if the catcher gets crossed up. They should let the boys play.
Roger: I don’t think it counts as a mound visit if the pitcher urinated himself. I think you get a freebie for that one.
Peter: That’s a very graphic…I don’t think that’s ever happened before but I think that if the umpire woke up on the wrong side of the bed he’ll probably call it a ‘mound visit.’
Roger: So it just came out of your imagination.
Peter: Yeah. But you know what I mean. You got to let the boys play. Right now because of how specialized everything is, and because of how much information is out there I think the game is being played the best that has ever been played.
Brian: Completely agree. I mean these guys are the biggest, strongest, fastest, and most technically proficient players in history.
Peter: Everything works itself out and you have the pitch clock to what, save two minutes, three minutes?
Brian: So right now Peter, Pete, EL POW: You’re hitting at home games, you’re hitting at away games. You’re hitting during the day. You’re hitting at night. Lefties and righties, crushing them both. The one split that I find really interesting I wanted to ask you about: You have six walks in June, and today’s the 3rd, but that’s not my question, my question is you had a really dominant April, and then you had a very, very good May as well. But they were different months. What’s it like with minor league pitchers adjusting to you? Do you notice a very discrete difference in the way you’re being pitched right now because you’ve been killing it? Or is it more ebb and flow?
Peter: Absolutely. So for the first two months we’ve played a couple of different teams but there’s just one team that we’ve played so many times, like it’s unbelievable. It feels like when you play a team too many times in my opinion, then it gets easier because it’s a quick turnaround: all the memories and everything is fresh.
Brian: So you think the advantage goes to the hitter when you see the pitchers a lot?
Peter: There is this thing where you can see a pitcher too too much, if that makes sense. Having a book is a really good thing, but having too many things…it’s too much information, you know? And they can, especially now, where there’s so much analytics involved, where it’s like, ‘You know what? We might as well just walk this kid’ or ‘We’re going to pitch to somebody else’. I’m not going to see pretty much any pitches to hit, against a team where it’s like ‘We’re either going to make a perfect pitch or we’re going to walk you, and that’s pretty much it.’
Brian: That’s what it looks like from the outside. You walked 15 times in April, you walked 20 times in May, it kind of seems like nobody wants anything to do with you. Aside from us; we want something to do with you.
Peter: Aww thanks guyssss.
Brian: Definitely pitching doesn’t want to.
Peter: In the times that I do get a pitch to hit I just need to capitalize on those, and it’s as simple as that.
Brian: But you can tell discreetly that there is some adjustment going on right?
Peter: Oh absolutely. I mean, I wouldn’t want to pitch to me.
Brian: That is awesome to hear.
Peter: I’m not saying that to come off as cocky or anything. Like, I would do the same thing.
Roger: Well maybe it didn’t sound that cocky, when you said that you wouldn’t pitch to you. Maybe you meant that you were peeing down your leg and then they’re like ‘Well I wouldn’t want to pitch him, I mean look at him, I feel bad’. That’s what I thought you meant.
Peter: Ok. Yes.
Roger: And I promise we won’t take your quote out of context when we promote the episode like ‘I wouldn’t pitch to me: EL POW speaks out!’ We won’t do that. We’re slightly classier than that. A smidge. Yeah. Like two percent more.
Brian: Well you and Jeff McNeil are doing most of the damage right now in Double-A, and you hit behind Jeff usually?
Peter: Yes Jeff hits second and I hit third.
Brian: Did you see Vlad Guerrero Jr. today?
Peter: Yeah I did. He didn’t play today. I hope he’s all right*. He kind of hyperextended his knee when he was running out a single. I think he didn’t land right touching first. And you know it just stinks. I hope he’s all right. It looked like he was all right in the dugout but they’re just giving him a day off to make sure that he’s totally fine. But you know, what that kid is doing is really really special.
*It was announced last week he will be promoted to Triple-A after his DL stint for a strained patella tendon has concluded.
Brian: Are you bigger than Piazza?
Peter: Well…
Brian: Because he is known for being a big, strong, solid dude and is pretty tall, especially for a catcher. He was really tall but you are also tall yourself, like 6'2" 6'3" or something like that, right?
Peter: I’m 6'3", like 240 right now? How big did it say, I think I’m taller than him by an inch?
Roger: Do you have a scale in your house, give us a really quick update?
Peter: We have a scale at the field…
Brian: I was thinking generally about the idea of how in today’s game players are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever before. And you know, even guys that current players looked up to back in the day, they’re probably mostly all bigger and stronger than their idols were. Now that must be an interesting thing.
Peter: Yeah, I think I’m bigger. I mean I’m not trying to say *dopey voice* Ohhhhh I think I’m biggerrrrr. But I think I am. Also he’s like, 50.
Roger: So what you’re saying is you can totally take Mike Piazza right now, if it came to blows, if you had to fight down by the docks or something you could totally handle Hall of Famer Mike Piazza?
Peter: I don’t think I’d have the heart to do it because I’ve looked up to him too much.
Roger: The psychological factor goes to Mr. Piazza on this one.
Brian: And experience too.
Peter: Actually he doesn’t. The one thing against, remember that Clemens thing that happened?
Brian: You mean the one that scarred me for life at 16?
Peter: When Clemens broke Piazza’s bat or whatever, and then Clemens threw the bat at Piazza, he could have absolutely put a dent to his face and made him eat out a straw for a long while, but I think he’s so classy, he doesn’t want to do it. It’s not even worth it. I think that’s even cooler than scrappin’.
Brian: First of all, Clemens may have had some interesting substances that you’re not supposed to have playing baseball in his system.
Peter: Ah, gotcha.
Brian: But the thing when I watch that play, and I’ve seen that replay a million times like every Mets fan, I feel like Piazza was like so confused. Have you ever been so confused that you can’t just be mad and you’re just like ‘What just happened?’
Peter: I just think it’s like, Really?
I mean, I wouldn’t want to pitch to me.
Brian: Have you been down to New York City? I know you played for the Cyclones for a bit.
Peter: Yeah. I had a really good taste of kind of living in Brooklyn. I enjoyed it. Awesome, awesome food. On an off-day me and my girlfriend, we took the Circle Line Tour, we went to the Statue of Liberty. It was a pretty busy day. We definitely enjoyed ourselves, and I got to see all the stuff around Manhattan, and I feel like I can navigate Brooklyn pretty fairly. The one thing I still can’t understand and get is the subway system, but again I think you probably had to pass calculus for that.
Brian: I think it’s time they…
Peter: I was just messing around.
Roger: As soon as you figure it out they change the lines and then it’s out of service for the summer so, you’ll figure it out, and then once you figure it out they’ll mess with you again and then you’re a true New Yorker.
Peter: I remember I was kind of like asking people, and people were looking at me kind of weird like, ‘Are you serious right now? How can you not know where you are going?’
Brian: Well I think Pete that very soon you’re probably going to be subletting a place in Long Island City or in Midtown and probably taking a Black Car or whatever it is these players take to Citi Field soon, and you probably won’t have to worry about the subway. At least that’s my hope.
Peter: I feel like I should learn.
Roger: I believe Jerry Blevins occasionally, maybe always, takes the train to Citi Field. So if you do come up this year he can be your guide. I don’t think he would big time you with that.
Peter: Oh yeah. He seems like a really, really awesome guy. Being in that locker room during things like spring training, that was really, really cool, because I got to see how everyone is and the really cool part about it is that — also as a little side note, I don’t think anyone had more fun there than me. If there was a fun competition, I won.
Roger: More arrogance from EL POW. My God. Nobody had more fun than ME. I win!
Peter: I enjoyed being there every single day. There’s so much information from the older players, and the guys who have had big league time, just picking their brain for their knowledge that they offered and they’re more than willing to give was awesome. It’s also just asking how everything is. It was huge, and it was a really big learning experience for me, and if there’s one thing it’s that I’m such a huge baseball fan. I’m a player, but also I’m a fan of the sport of baseball, and kind of one of those things that I kind of talk about with Mike Piazza, seeing guys that you’re playing against, that you grew up watching and stuff like that, and there’s guys like that in the locker room and what was kind of an eye opener, and kind of refreshing for me, these are normal…it’s really difficult for people to understand, but these are normal human beings, like they have a heartbeat, a pulse, a soul. It’s weird that people just see them in their uniforms, they don’t get to see how they interact or how they are as people, and I think that was really cool. They’re big leaguers, I have zero service time, and there’s guys like Adrian Gonzalez who has 15–16 years in the league, and we’re having a normal conversation at first base, like it was nothing.
Brian: You must have been like 12 when Gonzalez made his first All-Star team.
Peter: I don’t want to think about that*.
*He was 13.
Peter: You know what I mean? He’s been there for a while, and I got a chance just to talk and, I guess I’m repeating myself but it’s really cool, to realize they’re not just other players that you looked up to: they’re real people. And also I guess that’s one of the things that I kind of want to preach to Met fans, because a lot of those guys in the locker room, they play hard, and they don’t want to fail, and they work their ass off and play well for the entire fanbase. I think that’s one thing that needs to be brought up, you know?
Brian: Well we can’t make people more reasonable on our own, but we try. I remember years ago there was this whole like #FreeLagares movement in 2014 I want to say? This is a while ago now, where Terry Collins benched him like five days in a row. And you know it didn’t come out until afterwards that his grandmother was really sick. So he went home for a couple of days, and people were bugging about why he was not in the lineup and freaking out and stuff.
And also I’ve had the chance to be in the clubhouse a couple times and being around the guys when they talk about regular older stuff, it’s really humanizing. You realize they want to try new restaurants and have girlfriends and they get sick or have life stuff, and it’s so real. So we try to remind folks of that, yeah.
Peter: I appreciate you guys too, just seeing some some stuff on Twitter like ‘Oh Conforto missed the cutoff!’; everyone misses the cutoff. If you’ve ever played the game of baseball, you’ve missed the cutoff.
Brian: Well we were not happy about that by the way.
Roger: And it was the manager who brought that up, so…
Brian: We defended Michael.
Peter: He’s so awesome. You know what I mean though?
Roger: We know what you mean.
Peter: Awesome.
That’s one of the things that I kind of want to preach to Met fans, because a lot of those guys in the locker room, they play hard, and they don’t want to fail, and they work their ass off and play well for the entire fanbase. I think that’s one thing that needs to be brought up, you know?
Roger: Ok so Field of Dreams: Good movie? Or great movie?
Peter: Fantastic.
Brian: Don’t feel pressure!
Roger: Just don’t bring it up to Jerry Blevins. Jerry Blevins, easily his worst take of all-time is he’s not a Field of Dreams guy, so don’t bring it up when you’re on the subway with him.
Peter: Ok. That’s fine. I like The Sandlot too.
Roger: Sure sure, that’s fine.
Brian: Are you willing to wear an outfielder’s glove?
Peter: If they say ‘Hey, go play right!” I will say ‘All right!”
Roger: Have you ever played outfield?
Peter: My sophomore year of high school. I was 16 so that was seven years ago.
Brian: Pete has not slugged under .500 since freshman year of college. So that’s five years and many levels ago. Lot of competition and he has been crushing it ever since.
Peter: Wow. That’s a fun stat.
Brian: I know.
Peter: That’s cool.
Brian: Well we’re really really glad to make your acquaintance and be friends. We know you’re working hard down there. We’ve got really good reports on your defense and obviously the slugging speaks for itself. So excited to eventually see you make your debut.
Peter: Yeah, I’m really excited. And whenever it is, I’m going to be very ecstatic. But I mean for right now, I’m just going to keep chomping at the bit and getting better every day and just grinding it, just being the best player I can possibly be.
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