PORT ST. LUCIE — Pete Alonso took a huge cut on the first pitch he saw Saturday in the Grapefruit League and unleashed a missile that screamed: “Give me the first-base job!”
Never mind that Alonso mishandled a throw to first base a half-inning earlier, helping the Braves score two runs in an extended inning. Here was his raw power on display, with a two-run homer, and the Mets loved it.
“We’re called hitters, we are not takers, so if we get a good pitch we might as well take our chance at it,” Alonso said on a day the Mets beat the Braves, 4-3, at First Data Field in their exhibition opener.