Pete Alonso says the New York Mets ‘have the pieces’ to win

Pete Alonso and the New York Mets are preparing for a fan-less 60-game regular season. The Mets have played a handful of exhibitions over the last week, getting a sense of what games without fans will look like.

Alonso compares playing in empty stadiums to playing in the Florida State League (quotes per amNY’s Joe Pantorno).

“It felt exactly like playing in the Florida State League,” Alonso said. “You can probably count how many fans are in the stands on both your hands in Florida State League games.”

Alonso says the Mets have to be “motivated” this season.

“At the end of the day, we have to be motivated to try and win a ballgame,” Alonso said. “We have to be motivated to try and win a championship.”

The Mets will be without Noah Syndergaard this season due to an elbow injury. Wednesday afternoon their starting rotation was dealt another blow with Marcus Stroman being placed on the injured list with a calf injury.

Alonso expects Stroman to be back “very soon.”

“I know Marcus is such an incredible worker. That’s the one thing when he got traded to us last year, that man works, he takes care of himself,” Alonso said. I respect the hell out of him and he’s a great teammate. I know he’s going to be back very soon.”

Alonso says the Mets have an “extremely dynamic lineup.”

“I think we have an extremely dynamic lineup. When we’re hitting on all cylinders, we are extremely dangerous,” Alonso said. “We have a really well-balanced lineup. There’s no easy out.”

“I think we have the pieces to do it. I think we have everything that it takes.”

Alonso feels the Mets “have the pieces” to win a championship.

“Falling short of the postseason leaves a sour taste,” Alonso said. “We don’t want to leave anything in question. We want to do it, we want to be there, we want to compete for a championship.

“I think we bottled the feeling of going home in September and not playing in October. We’re all extremely motivated and we’re going to find out a lot about our character. We have the pieces, we just have to out between the lines and do it.”

Last season the first baseman hit .260, posted a .941 OPS and 148 OPS+ and totaled 53 home runs and 120 RBIs. That production helped Alonso win the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year Award.