Major League Baseball players experienced a bumpy road to spring training this year thanks to their tumultuous labor negotiations with league owners. But few players will arrive to spring training this week feeling more grateful than New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.
Monday morning, Alonso stood in front of his Port St. Lucie locker and told reporters he’s lucky to be alive after being involved in a terrifying car accident over the weekend.
“To me, this is just really special to be here,” Alonso said. “This is a really special spring training because yesterday was a really close experience to death.”
According to Alonso, his car flipped over about three times after it was t-boned by another vehicle that ran a red light. Fortunately, no one involved in the crash experienced any serious injuries.
“To me, I’m just really thankful to be alive, I’m really thankful that I’m healthy. I’m very thankful to be here,” Alonso continued as he worked through his emotions. “Anything can happen at any given moment and I’m just super, super blessed to be here.”
Alonso said he took it slow on Monday and focused on some personal drills, but the 27-year-old first baseman plans to be back on the field as a full participant Tuesday. The Mets have championship aspirations for the upcoming season, and they’ll be reliant on Alonso’s home run power to make significant contributions.
“I was coming here to work, coming to spring training, and then the next thing I know I’m kicking my windshield in trying to get out of a flipped-over car,” Alonso added. The All-Star closed his recount by drawing a laugh from reporters as he thanked Ford for “having great engineering.”
[SNY]
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com