Bullies tried to wreck Alonso

Mets star Pete Alonso’s undeniable persistence shaped him into the face of the franchise he represents today.

During an interview with ESPN, Alonso revealed that during his time playing for the University of Florida, he received backlash from both his teammates and roommates over his longdistance relationship with Haley Renee Walsh, who is now the NL Rookie of the Year’s fiancée.

“It got bad to where they were totally tearing into me about it,” Alonso told the website. “And then I was really upset.”

Alonso first met Walsh while he was playing for the Cape Cod League. He explained that despite his commitment and persistent dedication to the relationship, some of his peers sent illicit photos to his social media accounts intending to tarnish their relationship.

“Look,” Alonso said, confronting the person sending the images by grabbing his shirt and pulling him from a scooter. “You need to stop. Don’t ever do that.”

Alonso finally stood up for himself after suffering years of bullying during his childhood. While he was constantly tormented — being called names such as Fatso, Fatty and Fat Boy — Alonso controlled his emotions instead of retaliating.

“I internalized a lot of things,” he said. “I didn’t fight back. I also have a high pain tolerance, [if] I was punched or kicked or something like that before, it didn’t hurt physically. But it hurt mentally. That’s stuff that I still remember who exactly did it. I still remember who and I remember what.”

After being drafted 64th overall by the Mets back in 2016, Alonso climbed his way to the majors. He quickly made history by setting the all-time record for home runs by a rookie by belting 53 in 2019.