Mets first baseman Pete Alonso penned an impassioned missive last week directed to the fans, telling them how much he missed baseball and imploring them to "shake the damn stadium" when baseball finally returns to Citi Field.
In the meantime, Alonso -- like every other player -- is preparing in isolation for what he hopes will be the start of the season.
And after smashing the rookie home run record in 2019, Alonso wants to master something else in 2020.
"Ultimately, I want to be as dynamic as possible. One of my ultimate goals in my career is to win a Gold Glove," Alonso said Monday night during an appearance on MLB Network when asked what he had his eye on for 2020. "I want to be not just a force at the plate. I want to not just help my pitchers out, but help my other infielders out as well. I want to be the best defender I can possibly be, because if I keep working and helping other people out around the diamond I feel like that's just gonna improve the team. And I feel like working on my defense is part of being a good teammate.
"I want to run the bases efficiently, want to score more than 100 runs. I want to not just run the bases well. I want to play good defense, be the best complete first baseman I can possibly be. And also a winner. I just want to win games at the end of the day."
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Alonso, whose future with the Mets was once seen as uncertain due to concerns over his fielding, was pretty close to average with the glove during his rookie season -- something that he achieved due in part to extra time spent working around the bag before games.
When it comes time for those games to return to New York, Alonso envisions it being something that's "more than just baseball."
"Right now, especially in New York, this virus is affecting a lot of people's lives," Alonso said. "And I feel like people use sports as kind of an out -- you don't have that sort of relief just to help them through everyday lives. And right now, there's no sports. And I feel like when baseball is back. ... whenever we're allowed to play back in New York, I feel like that environment and that atmosphere is gonna be nothing short of electric. That moment is gonna be more than just baseball. It's gonna be about life and not being able to take things for granted."