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Pete Alonso

Birthday
Birthplace
TampaFlorida
Height
191 cm · 6′3″
Weight
111 kg · 245 lbs

Pete Alonso is an American professional baseball first baseman known for breaking the Major League Baseball rookie home run record with 53 home runs in 2019. A multiple-time All-Star and two-time Home Run Derby champion, he became the New York Mets' all-time franchise home run leader before joining the Baltimore Orioles.

Personal life

Alonso met Haley Walsh in the summer of 2015 while playing collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The couple maintained a long-distance relationship while Alonso attended the University of Florida and Walsh studied at Michigan State University. They became engaged in November 2018 and married on November 12, 2021, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, Florida. In October 2025, they welcomed their first child, a son.

In 2020, Alonso and his wife founded The Alonso Foundation, a charitable organisation supporting youth sports, veterans, and animal welfare causes. Through the foundation, they launched initiatives such as Homers For Heroes, supported animal rescue efforts by pledging donations for home runs, and hosted youth baseball events including the Battle for the Bay at Plant High School. In March 2022, Alonso survived a severe car accident in Tampa when another driver ran a red light and struck his vehicle, causing it to flip three times; he emerged without injury.

Early life and amateur career

Peter Morgan Alonso was born in Tampa, Florida, to Michelle Lynn Alonso and Peter Matthew Alonso. His paternal grandfather, Peter Conrad Alonso, was a Spanish refugee who left Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, arrived in New York through Ellis Island, and settled in Queens. Alonso played youth baseball in Tampa, including a stint on a Little League team that earned him a congratulatory letter from New York Yankees manager Joe Torre in 2002.

Alonso attended Jesuit High School in Tampa for two years before transferring to Henry B. Plant High School, where he focused exclusively on baseball after also playing lacrosse and football as a freshman. After graduating in 2013, he enrolled at the University of Florida to play for the Florida Gators. He earned All-Southeastern Conference honors as a freshman, competed in the 2015 and 2016 College World Series, and developed his hitting profile during summer stints with the Madison Mallards and the Bourne Braves.

Record-setting debut and Mets career

The New York Mets selected Alonso in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft. After advancing through the minor league system and winning the Joe Bauman Home Run Award in 2018, he earned a spot on the Mets' 2019 Opening Day roster. Alonso produced an extraordinary rookie campaign, hitting 53 home runs to lead the majors and surpass Aaron Judge's MLB rookie record. That season, he won the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby, was named to the All-MLB First Team, and received 29 of 30 first-place votes to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Alonso established himself as a central power hitter in New York, winning his second consecutive Home Run Derby in 2021 and leading the National League with 131 RBIs in 2022. During the 2024 postseason, he hit a decisive ninth-inning, three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit a go-ahead home run while trailing in the ninth inning or later of a winner-take-all playoff game. In August 2025, he hit his 253rd home run with the Mets, surpassing Darryl Strawberry to become the franchise's all-time home run leader.

Move to the Baltimore Orioles

Following the 2025 season, in which he won a Silver Slugger Award and played in all 162 regular-season games, Alonso opted out of his contract to enter free agency. In December 2025, he signed a five-year, $155 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Upon joining the team, he chose uniform number 25, citing the birth year of his son.

Quick facts

  • Alonso set the Major League Baseball single-season rookie record with 53 home runs in 2019.
  • He won the MLB Home Run Derby in consecutive competitions in 2019 and 2021.
  • During spring training in 2019, teammate Todd Frazier gave him his nickname, 'Polar Bear.'
  • In 2002, seven-year-old Alonso received a framed letter of praise from New York Yankees manager Joe Torre after his Little League team won a championship.
  • His paternal grandfather fled Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War and settled in the New York City borough of Queens.
  • He became the first player in MLB history to hit a go-ahead home run while trailing in the ninth inning or later of a winner-take-all postseason game during the 2024 NL Wild Card Series.
  • Alonso surpassed Darryl Strawberry in August 2025 to become the New York Mets' all-time career home run leader.
  • He wore custom-designed cleats commemorating the September 11 attacks during a 2019 game and donated them to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
  • He selected jersey number 25 upon joining the Baltimore Orioles to honour the year 2025, when his son was born.

FAQs about Pete Alonso

Is Pete Alonso married and have children?

Yes. Alonso married Haley Walsh in November 2021, and the couple welcomed a son in October 2025.

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