Pete Alonso is known as a slugger, and for good reason. Now in his eighth major league season — and first with the Baltimore Orioles — the 31-year-old first baseman has 285 home runs and a .511 slugging percentage to go along with a 132 wRC+ over 1,111 career games. His right-handed stroke produced 53 home runs in 2019, and he boasts single-season totals of 45, 40, 38, and 37.
It would be unfair to pigeonhole the University of Florida product, and formerly of the New York Met, as just plain silly. That’s especially true when it comes to Alonso’s handling of the plate, and his overall understanding of the craft. Although the term “bashing student” is undoubtedly overused, it fits Baltimore’s top basher to a T.
In the latest installment of our Hitting Talks series — now 125 deep — Alonso talks about his self-awareness, the subtle changes he’s made over the years, and the determined way he attacks pitchers. Our interview took place at Fenway Park over the weekend.
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David Laurila: How would you describe yourself as a hitter?
Pete Alonso: “I’d like to think of myself as a power hitter, a good at-bat, and one that can damage the pitches. I can set traps. Ultimately, I’m a power hitter.”
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Laurila: He is generally considered to be a strong hitter. Do you like that label?
Alonso: “I like the label. Power is based on results. If you hit a ton of home runs and a ton of doubles, consistently, you’re a power hitter. It doesn’t matter what your physical size is. If you get power results, then you’re a power hitter.
“Honestly, I’m trying to hit a hard line drive. That’s what it is. Hit a hard drive, and not to get out front. I’m better off just meeting the ball where it’s thrown and putting a swing on that. I’m not trying to generate power. I’m just trying to generate clean contact. I think chasing and generating the best things on a clean bat is possible.
Laurila: You talked about setting traps. Can you elaborate on that?
Alonso: “No. I won’t give anything away.”
Laurila: Manny Ramirez was known for stopping pitchers…
Alonso: “Yeah. You can do that. 100%. You can stop guys. You can…. yeah, I won’t elaborate on that and stop too much.”
Laurila: What about the way you emerged as a hitter mechanically. For example, if I watch film of you hitting when you first signed and compare it to now, would I see the same guy?
Alonso: I would say you’re going to see the same thumb, the same DNA, but now you’re going to see things that work a lot better.
Laurila: I think it’s a subtle fix, can you explain something about it?
Alonso: “When I was in college, my last year, I was a little more open. I had points in my career where I was a little more closed, a little taller, a little more through my legs. I think my hand placement was a little less or a little higher. It all comes out based on the duration of the results, or how the pitchers pressure me. [bat] the way and the DNA – how my body moves – I think you will see a lot of similarities.
“There are certain things, certain adjustments, that happen every year, where if you have the basics, you get a high level of efficiency and you keep those. You keep those little bits of information, you keep those feelings. For me as a hitter, it’s not just a game-planning aspect. A lot of it is the skill of being able to turn the dial on the swing and you can take a different approach to the game.
Laurila: Are you a hit-or-miss person?
Alonso: “I was 100% open to it, but I didn’t fully buy into it until last year.
Last year and this year I have a better understanding of what I need to do day in and day out, how to get my body to work in effective patterns and match the angle of the baseball coming – chasing that pure connection I talked about earlier. “
Laurila: Trying to stay on the plane and pitch…
Alonso: “Yes, staying on the plane, but that’s very common. For me, understanding the release points, understanding not just the pitches, because everything is different. What people are looking at now are the pitches, but with everything that’s going on, I think there’s a lot of baseball context that’s not there. The structure of the pitch, or anything, doesn’t think where there’s more, or less based on the release point, a certain movement, a potential movement. The guy doesn’t have a good position of release, his stuff is going to be lacking in the game. There are other guys who have a much harder release point, or the release point is more in line with their stuff.
“The pitch plot doesn’t tell the whole story, and I think that’s really disappointing from a scouting and game preparation standpoint. That’s what people rely on, but I don’t think that’s always accurate. It only focuses on one aspect of the whole baseball picture. Yes, you look at spin, but that doesn’t paint a picture of the ball going from hand to hand.”
Laurila: You look at, and plan for, many features…
Alonso: “I look at where the guys are standing on the rubber, I look at the length of the release, I look at all those things so I can anticipate, I try to paint a picture of how the ball will go in the zone or not in the zone.
“I think the biggest thing for me is understanding how to cover certain lanes, and where I can be, ‘Okay, whatever the pitch, what spot can I hit? How many spots can I cover with my good window, and get my A-swing out with good results?’ Where can I hit the ball hard? And if the ball doesn’t come from the place I want, that’s a take.”
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Previous “Talks Hitting” interviews can be found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Mattree Chavisp, Maxtt Cooper, Jay Bruce, Mattston Chavisp, Triston Cooper. Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matteo Hart Hagues, Mitch Hagues, Matt Hagues, Hagues Hagues III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Walker Jenkins, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Shea Langeliers, Trevor Lewis Larnach, Broce Larnach, Dillo Larnach, Doug Lee Larnach, Doug Lee Larnach Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Kevin McGonigle, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Paul Molitor, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Cryan Mountricost, Daniel Muunt, Daniel Muller Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tincer Trubbs J. Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Ryan Waldschmidt, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordanskim Westburg, Jesse Winker, Mike Wikili, Mike Wikistr.
