This story was excerpted from Jake Rill's Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- From the moment Pete Alonso arrived in Baltimore, he was ready to ingratiate himself within his new community.
Sure, the reason why Alonso and his family moved here was for baseball, as the 31-year-old slugger signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles this past December. But for Alonso, it’s always important for him to help out with charitable actions wherever he lives.
It didn’t take long for Alonso to appreciate what he learned in a short time about Baltimore.
“It’s awesome,” Alonso said. “There are so many great organizations here, so many great people here. It’s been a pleasure to work with.”
Alonso was recently named the Orioles’ nominee for the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award. The honor, bestowed by MLB, is the annual recognition of a player from each club who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
This is the second time Alonso has been recognized, as he was the Mets’ nominee in 2021. The Polar Bear wore Clemente’s No. 21 on Roberto Clemente Day on Sept. 15 -- the same day Alonso hit his 300th career home run at Citi Field -- and was then honored during an on-field ceremony last Friday night at Camden Yards.
“It’s really special, for many reasons,” Alonso said. “Obviously, Roberto, Hall of Fame talent, Hall of Fame baseball player, all the accolades, World Series champion. But I think it’s really special for a guy to do all the amazing things he did between the lines. But the thing that his legacy carries on the most is the type of man he was and the person he was off the field, bringing a lot of joy to kids and people with his philanthropic focus.
“It’s really special. Roberto is one of those icons in the game, and it just shows a lot about his character, because what he did on the field was completely otherworldly and then to be known for his charity and helping out the community, it’s really special to be considered for that award.”
Alonso and his wife, Haley, have gotten involved with various Baltimore-based organizations.
In April, the Alonsos made $10,000 donations to both Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter and The Baltimore Station which supports veterans through therapeutic residential treatment and transitional housing. They also made in-person visits to both places.
The Alonso Foundation continues to find various ways to give back to those in need. Alonso has also made visits to Harlem Park Elementary Middle School, which the Orioles have worked with as part of their adopt-a-school program in recent years.
“Having this opportunity and being given a pretty big platform, to just kind of give back and just show respect and appreciation for fans and communities that support us, to be able to show that and reciprocate the support, that’s what I take pride in the most,” Alonso said. “Whether people remember the off-the-field stuff or not, that’s not the point. The point is to make an impact and have your heart in a good place and try to do a good thing.”
Alonso is set to be in Baltimore for at least four years, and he hopes he can make even more of an impact moving forward.
“This year, it’s like the tip of the iceberg for us, and as more years pass, hopefully we can kind of grow our community in the philanthropic space,” Alonso said. “I think the people that we’ve kind of aligned ourselves with have been really helpful, especially with being able to give where it’s needed most in the city.”