QUEENS, N.Y. -- The defensive work that Pete Alonso did would determine the course of his career, as was explained to him when he was in the minor leagues. There was high regard for his hit tool out of college, and his power and drive for improvement, but he was seen as just about unplayable at first base.
This was explained to him: If he was going to play for the New York Mets, he would have to establish himself as a viable defender. So as minor league instructor Tim Teufel began his work with Alonso, he asked Alonso for a name of a first baseman he wanted to emulate. Alonso responded: Paul Goldschmidt, the right-handed-throwing slugger for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
OK, we can work with that, Teufel responded, and together they watched a lot of video of Goldschmidt making plays at first base -- digging throws out of the dirt, making throws, lunging for grounders, the footwork around the bag. Teufel and Alonso spent about a month together working on it at the Mets' facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
"What he didn't have when we first started was the techniques to play first base," Teufel said by phone Friday. "We got all kinds of film on Goldschmidt, and he took right to it. He motivated himself to be Goldschmidt, because that's what he wanted to emulate. He's got that kind of attitude.
"He's one of those guys who is going to hit his ceiling, whatever it is, offensively, defensively, because he'll put in the work."
And he had a lot of work to do in that fall of 2016. Alonso had been an offensive force at the University of Florida. "Paul Bunyan," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin wrote in an e-mail. "He was like that big kid in the third grade that would grab you and he didn't know his own strength. Made all SEC ballparks look small. He had hit skills and he was nimble at first base. He was like the offensive lineman who you could throw a pass to and he was athletic enough to catch it."
He also built a reputation for his positive influence on his teammates and for his work ethic. At Plant High School, he won his team's leadership award as a senior, a place in the National Honor Society and the 2013 Wade Boggs Award -- based partly on conduct and sportsmanship -- and would continue to add similar honors at the University of Florida.
But the overriding sentiment within the Mets' organization was that if Alonso didn't improve defensively, he was destined to be a designated hitter, almost certainly for an American League team.
As Teufel began his work with Alonso, the decision was made to isolate him on a side field, to maintain a narrow focus, and he practiced a lot of what he watched in the Goldschmidt videos. "He just needed reps," Teufel recalled. "I can't tell you how many times he practiced making a throw from one knee."
At the end of that long, arduous month of work, Teufel saw progress in Alonso -- a platform from which he would continue to build his defensive skills. "He got the techniques," Teufel said. "At least he had the fundamentals."
The skepticism about his defense would linger, but Alonso continued his work -- and this year, he has surprised those who first saw him at the position with his improved performance around the bag. J.P. Ricciardi, who had worked with the Mets for eight seasons as a special assistant before joining the San Francisco Giants, approached Alonso this year and congratulated him, telling him that he should feel proud of how solid he has become.
"He made himself a first baseman," said Ricciardi. "That's all him, and all of his work. All of the credit belongs to him."
Alonso is poised to complete one of the best rookie seasons in history:
• Alonso in 2019: .945 OPS, 47 homers, 109 RBIs
• Mike Trout, 2012: .326 average, 129 runs, 65 extra-base hits, 49 steals
• Aaron Judge, 2017: .284 average, .627 slugging percentage, 128 runs, 52 homers, 79 extra-base hits
• Ichiro Suzuki, 2001: .350 average, 242 hits, 127 runs, 56 stolen bases
• Albert Pujols, 2001: .329 average, 37 homers, 88 extra-base hits, 112 runs, 130 RBIs
• Fred Lynn, 1975: .331 average, 175 hits, 21 homers, 105 RBIs, 103 runs
• Dick Allen, 1964: .318 average, 201 hits, 29 homers, 80 extra-base hits.
News from around the major leagues
Walker Buehler, who starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball against the Mets, detailed to Sports Illustrated the instructional visual that his maternal grandfather, Dave Walker, provided for him when Buehler was just learning about pitching -- "Snake eyes," which is what Buehler's fingertips would look like when he properly kept his fingers on top of the baseball.
In conversation in the Dodgers' dugout Saturday, Buehler said that part of the reason that message appealed to him at 8 and 9 years old was his boyhood interest in reptiles. "I always wanted a lizard or a snake, or whatever," he recalled. "Never got one."
• The industry is already filled with speculation that in the offseason, the Dodgers will take a run at the most prominent free-agent position player, third baseman Anthony Rendon, who checks so many of the boxes for what the organization values: consistently competitive plate appearances, power, a preponderance of contact and an even-keeled temperament.
There's one problem. Third baseman Justin Turner, the working model for so much of what the Dodgers' offense has become, is signed through the 2020 season, after he turns 35. Turner has played other infield positions in his career, and if the Dodgers do, in fact, successfully pursue Rendon, then Turner could move to first base, sharing time with Max Muncy at that spot while sprinkling in time at second base and third base. David Freese, 36, has also played well in a limited platoon role under a one-year contract, batting .311 in 175 plate appearances.
Turner is so respected within the organization that it would not be shocking if he eventually transitions into the same type of role that Chase Utley played for the Dodgers at the end of his career.
Rendon, 29, is among the leaders for the NL MVP Award, hitting .331, with 33 homers, 118 RBIs and a 1.039 OPS, with 64 walks and just 79 strikeouts. He is represented by agent Scott Boras, and if Rendon chooses the most lucrative long-term offer, that might come from another team -- maybe the Texas Rangers -- because of California's state taxes. But some of Rendon's friends in the game don't believe that Rendon is the sort who is devoted to the idea of a very long-term deal, and might be more interested in playing five years than 10, and if so, he might better fit the Dodgers' business practices.
The Dodgers could have had Giancarlo Stanton when the Marlins looked to trade him a couple of winters ago, but they passed on the opportunity because of the decade remaining on his contract and the uncertainty about what position he would play in his mid-30s. Similarly, they never seriously chased after either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado last winter.
The Dodgers will be well-positioned to take a shot at Rendon and/or Gerrit Cole, the two best free agents of the upcoming offseason, because of their remarkable success at drafting, developing and retaining the best young talent. Corey Seager is making $4 million this year and will be arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter; Cody Bellinger will be arbitration eligible for the first time; Buehler is still making close to minimum wage; and Alex Verdugo, Will Smith and Gavin Lux are all projected to play major roles for the 2020 Dodgers, for relative pennies.
Imagine a Dodgers lineup that might look something like this in 2020:
LF Some combination of A.J. Pollock, Joc Pederson, Chris Taylor, etc.
1B Turner/Muncy
RF Bellinger
3B Rendon
SS Seager
2B Gavin Lux
CF Alex Verdugo
C Will Smith
• It was around the All-Star break that Mets hitting coach Chili Davis approached shortstop Amed Rosario and told him that they would prepare side-by-side on a daily basis, watching video and going over scouting reports of that day's pitcher -- an intensified regimen for a really smart young player that has seemingly paid off. In the 61 games since the start of July, Rosario is hitting .328, with a .366 on-base percentage.
• Rajai Davis had a great moment in Saturday's game, pinch-hitting with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and driving in all three runs in the Mets' 3-0 win over the Dodgers. Davis, 38, is in his 14th season in the majors, and acknowledged before the game that these might be his last days as a professional. He is father to a 5-year-old daughter, Jade, and a 4-year-old son, Jordan, and he is feeling the pull of home to spend more time with them.
Davis' hit on Saturday was the 1,110th of his career, to go along with 415 stolen bases and one of the most memorable home runs in recent World Series history -- his blast off Aroldis Chapman that tied Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Davis played most of this year for Triple-A Syracuse; he has 20 games in a part-time role with the Mets.
Baseball Tonight Podcast
Friday: Karl Ravech talks about what David Ross would bring to the table as a manager; Jessica Mendoza on the fastball and confidence of Walker Buehler, and the clubhouse leadership of Pete Alonso; Rena Wang's bleacher tweets.
Thursday: Keith Law on the debut of Oakland pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo, who could be a pennant-race weapon; Tommy Pham discusses the baseball, and the surprising success of the Rays in the face of adversity; Sarah Langs and The Numbers Game.
Wednesday: Bob Nightengale on what's at stake for the Cubs in their effort to reach the playoffs, and the impact of the Christian Yelich injury; Joel Sherman on the Mets' handling of the Noah Syndergaard-Wilson Ramos issue; Paul Hembekides details just how good the Astros have been in this window of success.
Tuesday: Peter Gammons on the dismissal of Dave Dombrowski, and what comes next for the Red Sox; David Schoenfield on James Paxton's emergence; Sarah Langs and The Numbers Game.
Monday: The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy on the strange circumstances around Dombrowski's firing; Tim Kurkjian on the future of Mookie Betts; a conversation with Mike Tauchman of the Yankees; Todd Radom's cap talk and weekly quiz.