WASHINGTON — Pete Alonso discovered he had cracked the Mets’ Opening Day roster as part of a gag by his manager.
Mickey Callaway convened all the players who were awaiting official word on their status earlier this week — Alonso, Dominic Smith, Luis Guillorme, J.D. Davis and Tomas Nido — and had them hit together in the first batting practice group during the team’s voluntary workout on Wednesday at Nationals Park.
Then came Callaway’s prank: he told the group there was a flight leaving shortly for Syracuse — home of the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate.
“It got real quiet and [Callaway] dragged it out,” Alonso said before the Mets beat the Nationals 2-0 on Thursday. “And he was like, ‘All right, you guys are going to miss the flight because you are big leaguers.’ It was not cool at first, but it was kind of a funny joke.”
Alonso, who became the seventh player in franchise history to make his major league debut on Opening Day, went 1-for-4 against Max Scherzer. The hit was a single in the eighth inning that led to the Mets scoring an insurance run against the Nationals ace.
“That was the most excited I have ever been to play a baseball game before,” Alonso said. “It’s unbelievable.”
A day earlier he was nearly in tears when he learned he was on the team.
“I got misty-eyed, everybody was like, ‘Don’t cry, Pete,’ ” Alonso said. “I was wearing sunglasses at the time, but I was beyond excited. It’s just the most incredible feeling in the world.”
Callaway indicated Smith will also see action at first base, but the job won’t be a straight platoon. Smith is not a candidate to play outfield, according to the manager.
Alonso hit 36 homers in the minor leagues last season, but wasn’t among the club’s September call-ups. Team officials at the time cited concerns about his defense and placing him on the 40-man roster before it was necessary. But Alonso was a steady presence at first base in spring training to with his 1.006 OPS.
“I think this kid has shown us in spring training that he’s an all-around player,” Callaway said.
“I am excited about how thoughtful he is when it comes to baseball and how intelligent he is baseball-wise. This kid understands the game, he knows the game and that is just going to further help his talent to go out there and perform well on the field.”
