Mets' Pete Alonso gifts Cardinals' Masyn Winn fancy alcohol, bat
St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn stands in the dugout as he prepares to make his major league debut against the New York Mets on Aug. 18, 2023, in St. Louis. Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson
ST. LOUIS — Pete Alonso said sorry to Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn again Saturday afternoon, this time with more than just his words.
He sent Winn a bottle of high-end alcohol, Don Julio 1942 Tequila, as well as a signed bat with a personalized message as a gesture of goodwill after his first-hit faux pas Friday night.
“Just as a ‘hey, hope you have a great career, sorry about last night, it was my mistake, I wish you well,’ ” Alonso said.
The miniature controversy began in the bottom of the fifth inning of Winn’s major-league debut. He beat out a weak ground ball up the third-base line for his first hit. Alonso, not realizing the significance of the moment, tossed the ball into the crowd, a normal occurrence when the pitcher asks for a new one.
Then several people in the Cardinals’ dugout yelled at him, the Busch Stadium crowd booed and Alonso realized he messed up. Winn wound up with the ball anyway, but Alonso felt “like an idiot,” he said that night.
“He obviously didn’t mean to throw the ball away,” Winn, 21 and the Cardinals’ top prospect, told Newsday on Saturday. “He apologized to me on the field. Really a great guy. It’s really just a funny story . . . I talked to some people that he’s close with and everybody said he’s a great guy and obviously meant nothing by it. And I knew that on the field. I could see myself making that same mistake.”
Welcome to the major leagues, Masyn Winn. The boos were loud and long for Alonso the rest of the game.
“I was trying not to laugh at short,” Winn said. “First experience seeing that in person was pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie. I’ve heard he’s a great guy. [Stinks] that it had to happen to him. But it’s just really funny.”
Personnel news
Joey Lucchesi’s stay in the majors lasted just a day.
The Mets sent him back to Syracuse on Saturday after he tossed 5 2⁄3 scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Friday.
“He came up and did the job and leaves a good taste in everybody’s mouth,” manager Buck Showalter said. “You’re very careful about promising anything. But if there comes another need, certainly he’ll be considered.”
The Mets also called up righthander Vinny Nittoli and designated righthander Dennis Santana for assignment.
A delayed dream fulfilled
Thirteen years after being drafted by the Mets, Adam Kolarek finally reached the majors with his original organization on Saturday.
The Mets called up Kolarek, a sidearming lefthanded reliever, from Triple-A Syracuse because they needed a fresh pitcher for the bullpen. They added him in a minor trade with the Dodgers on Aug. 1.
The first time they acquired him, though, was in the 11th round of the draft in 2010. They selected him 10 rounds after Matt Harvey and two rounds after Jacob deGrom.
Kolarek, 34, bopped around the minors for six seasons. The Mets released him in October 2015. That made for a funny moment with Triple-A Syracuse manager Dick Scott this month.
“I even joked when I got traded over, because I really didn’t make it to Triple-A, either. I was there for a week to fill in when I was really young,” Kolarek said. “Dickie Scott was the farm director at the time. When I saw him as a manager, I said, ‘Hey, man, I always knew I could make it to Triple-A with the Mets.’ ”
Kolarek is a veteran of parts of seven seasons in the majors with the Rays, Dodgers and Athletics. He’d spent most of this season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club.
“I could’ve never guessed that this is how my season was going to continue,” he said. “It’s been pretty surreal, honestly. You can’t make this up. You can’t plan this stuff out. So it’s been really cool to come back and put these colors back on.”
Man in the middle
Brandon Nimmo, who has been managing a left quadriceps injury, started in centerfield Saturday night for the first time since Aug. 11. He had been playing leftfield so he didn’t have to run as much.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
