WASHINGTON – Pete Alonso can be found in his locker, after every game, hunched over a black-and-white marble-composed notebook with pen in hand.
This is a habitual postgame pattern for Mets first basemen. He ends a game and depending on the excitement of that night’s final out, he may first celebrate with his teammates at the clubhouse or end up chatting with a coach or member of the front office. but always, alwaysAlonso would return to that notebook and turn his thoughts into words before leaving the ballpark for the night.
Whether it is sequences, game situations or certain sports games, any notebook entry can be different from the last.
“I will sit after a game and reflect and confirm what I have done better,” Alonso told the Daily News. “Or if there’s something I want to change, whether it’s decision making at the plate or decision making in the field. For example, I think I’ve done a great job defensively this year. So I’m not just writing down things I can change, but I’ll keep affirming some things I can be good at. ,
That daily routine provides an introspective moment from a baseball player who values the game experience as much as the data, analysis and information that circulates in and out of organizations before and after each matchup. This is Alonso’s version of a formative assessment, a report card on his year-to-date performance and personal development.
Alonso has continued this practice during his four years in the big leagues.
But Marble’s notebook entries began during Alonso’s days at the University of Florida, where he developed into the Gators’ most dangerous hitter. Alonso buys a new marble notebook at the start of each season and begins to fill in the pages with details, both positive and negative, that detracted from his work in that day’s game. It could be his own thoughts, or someone else would say.
If Alonso makes an error at first base, something he’s only done once through his first 23 games playing this year’s position, you better believe that before he puts on his street clothes. and climbs into the car, Misue will make her way into his notebook. Bus to go back to your home or hotel that night. Recording his thoughts diligently has helped him stay on track or, in the event of an error or a particularly ugly strike, get back on track.
The first one has featured more so far this season, as the first baseman has scored eight home runs in the first month of 2022. Though he has found ways to catch the ball, Alonso knows that baseball is a game of peaks and valleys, while his notebook is constant.
“Baseball is a thing of the day,” Alonso said. “So I want to continue the good work I do, continue the routine, build some momentum from one day to the next. I just want to piece together the good days and I want to keep learning That’s how I can be better even when I’m not doing well.
“So it’s all relative day to day, but baseball, as much as there is information out there, it’s also a huge game experience. You can’t really use the information if you’re not feeling right. So I’m going to take that experience.” Will continue, that’s the stuff in my mind that’s clicking so that I can use the data and stuff so that I can be productive on the field.”
Alonso went through his historic NL Rookie of the Year season, through his All-Star year, through two consecutive Home Run Derby championships, through his fourth season, maintaining his Marble Notebook routine from college. said something about prominent
Alonso, 27, believes he will always be a student of the sport, so he doesn’t imagine a moment when he will drop the notebook. It has become a part of his baseball journey, a career he is sure is just beginning.
squirrel still batting low
Jeff McNeil has batted eighth in the Mets lineup in 14 of his 30 matches played this year, which isn’t where fans would expect the Amazons’ best hitter to hit every day. Manager Buck Showalter said the front office had certainly considered moving McNeil up the order, but the club liked the boost and versatility that the second baseman provides at the bottom of the order.
“It’s nice to have such a versatile piece,” Showalter said. “He can be a lead-off hitter or a three-hole hitter. He can go anywhere. He’s a big asset to us.”
McNeil clocked .333 on Wednesday — the seventh-best average in MLB and the fourth-best in the NL. He is the only hitter in the Mets lineup to average .300 or more. The opposing teams, Showalter observed, would try to rip one into the empty space against McNeil only for the lefty hitter. The captain stated that McNeil creates better matchups after the eighth inning, after which the opposing starter usually goes out, and this allows the Mets to eliminate threats in their lineup.
“You want to make the biggest challenge for a man to grind,” Showalter said. “And then if he goes up, someone else has to go down. Our players haven’t gotten into the arrogance of the batting order yet. One, because a teammate will say, ‘Well, who should you hit?’ I don’t want to have that conversation.”
high water mark
The Mets have a season-high 11 games above .500, matching their high water mark on paper from 2021 (36-25). Although the club never actually exceeded .500 in 10 games at any point last year. A win in a game suspended from April 11, 2021 was completed in August, and it extended the team’s record retrospectively.
The last time the Mets were playing 11 or more games above .500, they were 13 games above .500 on October 1, 2016 (87-74). The Mets have a seven-game lead in the division, their biggest divisional lead since they were nine and a half games ahead on September 27, 2015.
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