Mets' Pete Alonso uses Spanish to connect with teammates

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso realized in the minor leagues that becoming conversational in another language could help him during his career. 

"The majority of these guys don’t know Spanish," Alonso told Anthony DiComo of the MLB website about one clubhouse experience, "and the majority of these guys don’t know English. How do you make that work?" 

To make it work, Alonso "started to get pretty decent" speaking Spanish thanks to minor-league teammates from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. That wasn't, however, Alonso's introduction to the language outside of a classroom. As Tim Healey explained for Newsday back in March 2019, Alonso's late grandfather emigrated from Spain in the 1930s and eventually lived in Queens. 

Alonso hasn't embraced any language-learning products but is at the point where he can conduct interviews with Spanish-speaking media outlets. Star shortstop Francisco Lindor made it known he appreciates Alonso is "trying to find a way to interact with" bilingual teammates. 

According to DiComo, Lindor "could recall only one other minor league teammate who took the time to (learn Spanish) with any level of thoroughness" across his career. 

The timing for DiComo's piece is interesting, if not noteworthy. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo re-signed with the Mets ahead of Christmas via an eight-year contract reportedly worth $162 million, and Nimmo repeatedly is mentioned as the most likely player to be named the club's next captain. Alonso may be the more popular choice for the honor among fans, but he remains eligible for free agency after the 2024 season. 

It's unclear if possibly becoming Mets captain would convince Alonso to give the franchise any type of hometown discount before the upcoming campaign ends. 

While recently speaking about all that went wrong for the 2022 edition of the Mets, Alonso sounded like a captain when he admitted he felt players "didn’t have as much fun as we should’ve" during the most important stretch of the season. Wednesday's update suggests the 28-year-old would welcome additional responsibilities that would come with being the clubhouse's official leader.