Pete Alonso hasn’t made his NY Mets departure any easier on fans

For New York Mets fans still feeling hurt over Pete Alonso's departure to the Baltimore Orioles, spring training hasn't been the happiest of times.

Alonso demolished a home run against the New York Yankees in his first spring training game for the O's. He's hit another dinger since then.

Additionally, Alonso has been operating as the consummate Orioles teammate, and everyone's noticing. Mets fans, look away!

Mets fans hate that Pete Alonso is sparkling for the Orioles in spring training

Orioles writer Alex Fast pointed out Alonso's enthusiastic dugout demeanor on Sunday, suggesting that Alonso is just what the Orioles needed.

And while Fast's observation was a bit heavy-handed, given the fact that it is still February, his take offered a nice contrast to Darryl Strawberry's odd comments on Monday that Alonso will always "regret" leaving the Mets.

Strawberry argued that New York is a more special place than Baltimore, and that Alonso could have broken more Mets records by staying.

That may be so, Darryl, but let's keep in mind that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns didn't exactly make it a priority to retain Alonso. In fact, all indications point to the possibility that Stearns and the Mets were completely ready to move on from Pete.

Sometimes, a change of scenery works for everyone. The Alonso-less Mets might be a better team in 2026 than they were last season (let's hope so), and Alonso might be happier (and just as productive) in an Orioles uniform.

One thing about Alonso's Mets fit should be noted, though. His clubhouse presence -- the same presence now injecting life into the Orioles -- was almost always a positive entity in New York, even if his post-Mets comments to the press have included some subtle digs at the front office powers running the organization.

Considering all of the clubhouse issues that the Mets have gone through of late, it feels important to separate Alonso's Polar Bear energy from all of that nonsense.

Alonso was and is, by all accounts, an additive force in the clubhouse. Likewise, when it comes to a franchise's positive culture, Alonso adds. Beyond the home runs, Mets fans have good reason to miss that aspect of Pete right now, if anything.

The Mets have new players of their own to draw positive vibes from in 2026. It's a new dawn in Queens, and while fans will never forget Alonso, at least his Mets tenure will forever lack any obvious tarnish.