New York Mets’ Pete Alonso supports MLB’s Arizona plan and says it is “realistic”

New York Mets, Pete Alonso
USA Today

Major League Baseball is reportedly discussing the possibility of playing all games in Florida and Arizona. Each team will use its spring training facility. However, divisions will be realigned to take advantage of the proximity of their complex. That would result in the New York Mets playing lots of games against the Houston Astros, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals, for example.

And while some players have criticized the plan (one Mets’ said told Mike Puma of the New York Post that stuff “dies” in the Arizona desert) others appear to be on board. They want to play baseball, and they know people want the game back.

There has to be caution, though. The coronavirus is still spreading in the United States, so several public health measures and recommendations would need to be met.

The Mets’ slugger knows it from experience

New York Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso is among the players in favor of the Florida and Arizona arrangement. “I feel like that’s pretty realistic,” Alonso said, speaking on a podcast with Mets minor leaguer Jake Mangum. “But also I’m not a member of the CDC. At the end of the day, they’re the people that have to give the thumbs-up or the green light.”

Alonso knows what playing in Arizona for an extended period of time feels like. After all, he played in the Arizona Fall League for 27 games in 2018. He had a very good performance: 27 RBI in 27 games, with six homers.

“In Arizona, for you guys who aren’t necessarily familiar with it, every team is within 45 minutes of each other. The complexes there are absolutely supreme,” Alonso said. “Because it’s nice, high altitude and thin desert air, the ball flies a little bit better. Arizona, especially in that Phoenix area, is very conducive to baseball. Obviously not as much rain. For all the seasons to get done, that’s going to be a pretty good thing that’s going to happen.”