Tampa youth coach to throw to Mets' Pete Alonso in Home Run Derby

TAMPA, Fla. - The batting cage at Davis Islands is empty on Wednesday.

Pete Alonso is off playing for the New York Mets. Mike Friedlein is on a field in St. Louis, practicing for a moment that will fulfill a dream.

"Pete and I have been talking about this since he was like twelve or thirteen years old," shared Friedlein.

Since 2019, the Mets first baseman has hit more homers than anyone in baseball, and won two Home Run Derby crowns.

Mike Friedlein is preparing for the big moment.

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Nothing could make a youth coach more proud, especially because the Alonso he sees on TV, is the one he saw in the batting cage, taking nearly a thousand swings a week.

"He likes to have a good time. He likes to smile, laugh, tell jokes, all that good stuff," said Friedlein. "But when the round starts, you know, when the work starts, it is all focus. It's all business."

Alonso's cousin and college baseball player Derek Morgan, threw the pitches for his first Derby win, while Mets coach Dave Jauss threw for his second.

Pete Alonso is a two-time derby champ.

This time, he's turning to his coach from the Tampa heat travel team, which he played for when he was 15.

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The fact that Pete Alonso, a two-time derby champ, would pick someone who threw to him in a small batting cage on Davis Islands says a lot about how Alonso views his Tampa roots and the people who helped him along the way.

"For somebody who's had the success that he's had to remain this humble and this grounded in this and this down to earth," said Friedlein.

Alonso played for the Tampa heat travel team when he was 15-year-old.

Friedlein is fully prepared. Not only is he consulting with his own high school coach, he is practicing on his old field in St. Louis with a hitter who is the same size as Alonso.

He has watched every swing Alonso has taken in his three previous derbies, and is taping his training sessions to make sure he throws the same way each time, with exactly five seconds in between.

"It's touchy because he wants to extend, but he doesn't want to reach," explained Friedlein. "And if I'm going to miss, I should miss I should miss maybe above the belly button."

It's not possible for a hitter and pitcher to know one another better than Alonso and Friedlein.

The world is about to see the power behind one's roots.

"This experience is truly a gift for me, for Pete to have the trust in me to go out there and perform," said Friedlein.