Pete Alonso happy to donate part of his Home Run Derby winnings to charities
Pete Alonso watches the flight of his 34th home run, a solo shot in Mets' win over the Pirates on July 26, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Pete Alonso received a giant, fake $1 million check from Major League Baseball on Friday for his win in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby earlier this month.
What Alonso did with $100,000 of the money was real — and real nice. The Mets first baseman donated $50,000 each to two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“It was awesome winning the [Derby],” Alonso said while flanked by representatives of the two organizations at a Citi Field ceremony. “Yes, it’s a million dollars, but being a champion is priceless. For me, I just feel fortunate every day with the opportunity I have. I just feel extremely blessed, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to donate. I feel really strongly about people who put their lives on the line every single day.”
Alonso, who is making the major-league minimum salary of $555,000 in his rookie season, hit his 34th home run Friday night in the Mets’ 6-3 win over the Pirates.
He had vowed to donate part of his winnings if he won the Derby and made good on that promise in a big way to two organizations that are close to his heart.
“A bad day at work for me is getting booed off the field, going 0-for-4, making errors,” he said. “But I can’t even imagine what a bad day at work for people who put their lives on the line every single day is. I just have the utmost respect for those people.”
Extra bases
Edwin Diaz, who left Thursday’s game after being hit on the left foot by a line drive, said he felt OK and expected to be available Friday. The Mets used Seth Lugo for the ninth-inning save, though . . . To make room for Zack Wheeler on the roster, the Mets optioned righthander Walker Lockett to Triple-A Syracuse.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
