Batman is Bruce Wayne, Finkel is Einhorn…and Donnie Diesel is Pete Alonso.
Yes, it’s true – according to Ken Rosenthal, the much-ballyhooed Donnie “Diesel” Stevenson, the Mets’ new “hitting approach coach” that has been credited with their recent run, is none other than the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year in disguise.
Writes Rosenthal in a new piece on The Athletic, about the players-only meeting the team held on May 1 in Philly where “Donnie Diesel” first emerged:
“Alonso, in assuming his alter ego, wore a hat and sunglasses to the hitters’ meeting, then delivered the most basic of messages, according to some in attendance: Let’s stop over-thinking things. Let’s just go out there, stick to our strengths and let it rip. The meeting, according to one attendee, lasted about four minutes. The players did not even talk about Wheeler, laughing, clapping and hooting instead.”
Runs in the Mets bloodlines apparently – just ask Bobby “Definitely not Bobby V” Valentine – but indeed, after a win that night, Alonso and Michael Conforto first broke news that the team had that new coach.
“We just made a nice new hire, Donnie. He's nice. He's a great hitting approach coach. Donnie's been great helping the team. I think Luis forgot to mention Donnie. Donnie really helped us today,” Alonso said after that game, spurring the 10-day mystery.
Since Donnie has emerged, the Mets are 7-2, one of those two losses coming just before they fired hitting coaches Chili Davis and Tom Slater last Monday, but the team scored 43 runs in those nine games, after scoring 58 over their first 20.
Will they be just as successful now that their new guy’s alter ego has been exposed?
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