Alonso gives thanks to NJ doctors via video

NEW YORK -- During a difficult time around the tri-state area and the country at large, Pete Alonso is doing his part to bring a little cheer into the lives of medical professionals.

Alonso released a video Wednesday on Twitter thanking doctors at four Atlantic Health System hospitals in New Jersey.

“I just want to say thank you so much for all the time and effort that you’re putting into this, and thank you on behalf of everybody, because you’re a part of a bigger picture trying to help prevent this disease,” Alonso said in the video. “Thank you for keeping everybody safe, and providing protection for everybody here on the front lines, working on the prevention of this thing.”

The idea came from Alonso himself, as a way to give back to those on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Alonso has been busy spreading cheer since the Mets suspended Spring Training two weeks ago. Last week, he video chatted with an 82-year-old Mets fan who was recently diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. This week, Alonso took his message of inspiration to those in hospitals treating the novel coronavirus.

Although he has played just one season in the big leagues, Alonso has made a mission of impacting the community around him. Last July, he donated 10 percent of his Home Run Derby winnings to the Wounded Warrior Project and Tunnel to Towers, a Staten Island nonprofit that aids first responders and their families. Then in September, he bought commemorative Sept. 11 cleats for each of his teammates. Alonso later donated those to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan.

“I don’t want to be just a good baseball player,” Alonso said last summer. “I want to be a good person, too.”