Changing organizations doesn’t just mean swapping jerseys. 

Pete Alonso spent a decade with the Mets, dating back to his selection in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft. And while a move to Baltimore meant mashing home runs in a different shade of orange, it also meant a heel turn from everything he had known about life in professional baseball. 

But it hasn’t taken him long to acclimate to his new city. 

“Ever since signing here, everyone in the city, and everyone here with the Orioles organization, they’ve made life so easy,” Alonso said on the most recent edition of “The Bird’s Nest.”  

“Not just for myself, but for my family as well.”

It takes time to get the small things down. 

“This sounds so dumb, but not needing the GPS to come to the yard,” Alonso joked. “Knowing there’s traffic here, I can peel off right here and maybe save a couple of minutes this way or that way. Now, I kind of feel like I’ve got my bearings around the city. Obviously there’s restaurants, coffee, things to do. I feel like, as a family unit, we’ve found a lot of awesome things to do.”

An avid fisherman, Alonso hasn’t had the time to find any good spots, though he knows about the cobia and red drum scene in the Chesapeake Bay. The animals have found him, instead. 

“Up where we’re at, I saw deer and fox on the way home, and that just absolutely rocks,” Alonso remarked. “It’s just incredible, the surrounding area. You have water, you can go to the beach, you can go to the mountains, you can go to pastures and rolling hills. It’s just such a diverse place. We love it as a family.” 

The first baseman hasn’t called Baltimore home for long, but his sincere excitement and passion for the city emanated from every sentence. When asked about the character of Charm City, Annie Klaff mentioned the grit and hard work it’s known for. Alonso had this to say in response:

“I think the thing that never gets talked about is the beauty of it,” he said. “You have the Chesapeake, and you have out east with beautiful beaches. Then you have these rolling hills and pastures, gorgeous meadows, gorgeous nature preserves, Loch Raven’s fantastic … I don’t think people give Baltimore enough kudos for the beautiful surrounding areas. Whatever you’re into, there’s something for you. If you’re into country, if you’re into mountains, if you’re into lakes or if you’re into salt water, and then also, too, there’s an incredible horse culture … I think for me, nobody really talks about the beautiful and awesome things for people to discover.” 

He’s recently been made aware of the invasive bamboo problem, too. 

On a home run tear, Alonso is doing his part to have the Orioles’ record match the beauty of the city that supports it. Improving over the last few weeks, the O’s still find themselves on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race. A less than ideal start in the standings isn’t anything new for the Polar Bear. 

Back in 2024, his New York Mets were 11 games under .500 in late May. They bounced back to not only make the playoffs but push the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. 

“That group, that ‘24 team, internally, never counted ourselves out,” Alonso said. “It didn’t matter what it looked like, that group gelled and banded together, and we didn’t really care about the external. We wanted to own everything that we could control, and we were relentless every day in doing that. And that’s what made that team special. Was the season perfect? No. But what we were able to accomplish, going to Game 6 of the NLCS, it’s really incredible going from starting 0-5, we were maybe 12 or 13 games under .500 at one point. When you have a group like that that commits to each other and commits to not caring what the external has to say or their perspective, if you have that inner belief and that drive, that internal drive as a collective identity, it’s gonna happen. 

I see a lot of similarities in this ‘26 team. Yeah, on paper, it’s not great. But I know what our talent is, and I see the character and the work that these guys are putting in on an every day basis. Sometimes you have to pay your dues in spades, and eventually, you’ll see the return come and then some.” 

The Polar Bear has not only embraced his role as a leader in the clubhouse, but the city that has its back. After a slow start to the season, Alonso is back to showcasing the kind of talent he’s capable of bringing to Baltimore. His feelings about the city are simple: 

“It’s an honor to call this place home.”