Former Met Dominic Leone goes to bat for Pete Alonso
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso goes the dugout after making an out during the second inning against the Rangers at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Noah K. Murray
By his own admission, Dominic Leone has not been able to pinpoint why the Mets’ season went off the rails.
What the former Met and current Mariners pitcher has been able to conclude with certainty, though, is that Pete Alonso was not, and is not, the problem.
“If you’re not in the clubhouse and you don’t get to say it [to our faces], you can say whatever you want,” Leone said on Friday before Seattle opened a three-game series against the Mets at Citi Field. “That’s unfortunate, though, because it’s attacking a guy who bleeds Mets’ colors.”
Alonso’s perceived toxicity in the clubhouse has become a talking point because of a radio host’s suggestion during a recent on-air segment that the first baseman has been selfish.
The Mets have dismissed the notion.
Leone, who went 1-3 with a 4.40 ERA in 31 games with the Mets before being traded to the Angels on Aug. 1 for shortstop prospect Jeremiah Jackson, echoed his former teammates.
“He is the epitome of a Met,” said Leone, who was claimed off waivers by the Mariners on Thursday. “He loves to be here and he’s a grinder. To hear that kind of stuff about him, that was tough. I hated that for him. He’s the polar opposite of [what was said]. No pun intended on the polar part.”
Leone was raised in Norwich, Connecticut, so he knows a thing or two about the area.
“ I grew up a Boston Red Sox fan. I understand the Northeast fandom, how it works,” he said. “The second that you’re bad or struggling or whatever, everything goes away. You’re now the worst person in the world. It is what it is. I feel bad for him. He doesn’t deserve it.
“I feel bad for all these guys. They’re all really, really good players. Hard-working. They don’t deserve all the [expletive], and I understand that’s part of the business. You [have] to deal with it.”
Alonso gives back
Alonso presented a check for $10,000 to the Castle Hill (Bronx) Little League during a late afternoon news conference as part of his foundation’s new “For the Love of the Game” initiative. Along with the grant money, the foundation treated the Castle Hill players to tickets to the game and food. “I’m 28 years old,” Alonso said. “[And] there’s still that joy, the same amount of joy that I would get playing ball as a young kid, the same amount of joy I have now.” . . . The Mets announced that Citi Field won USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice award for “Best Stadium Food.” “We are thrilled to be voted the winner of the Best Stadium Food award by our fans,” vice president of hospitality Taryn Donovan said in a statement.
