Mets rookie Pete Alonso, who never lacks for a good quote, summed up his Home Run Derby approach in a perfectly succinct way on Monday in Cleveland.
"It doesn't matter how much jelly is in the jar," Alonso said. "It matters how you spread it on your English Muffin."
Alonso, who will battle hometown representative Carlos Santana in the first round on Monday night, was talking about needing to conserve energy during the timed rounds.
The 24-year-old said he wants to be able to soak everything in after his Futures Game appearance in 2018 "went by in a flash."
"I'm just excited for the whole thing," he said. "I've watched the derby growing up, and just to kind of be a part is going to be, for me, means so much. It's going to be an electric atmosphere and I'm just trying to take all this in."
Alonso also talked about the perseverance of Mets fans, who are dealing with another losing season and the potential of another sell-off at the trade deadline.
"I love the support the Mets fans give us and I think they're some of the best fans in baseball because whether the team's doing well or not doing well they're still coming out to the games," Alonso said. "The amount of passion they have is unbelievable and I think they're the most loyal fans in baseball because it's very easy to hop on a bandwagon -- we have the Yankees and they have 27 World Series. For people to stay true to the Mets and not deviate and waver, I think that's a sign of loyal fans. Our fanbase is unbelievable."