PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Pete Alonso apparently doesn't have much love for recently retired Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin.
The 2019 National League rookie of the year and New York Mets slugger took a shot at Martin during a nationally televised spring training game Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
During a live interview with ESPN broadcaster Eduardo Perez, Alonso let him hear about.
"I know you're a Florida State alum, so I'm sorry," Alonso told Perez. "But also, I mean, it's not necessarily completely my fault because Mike Martin didn't think – he didn't really think – I was good enough. So joke's on him."
"Mike Martin didn't really think I was good enough so ... jokes on him." 🤣
— ESPN (@espn) March 4, 2020
— @Pete_Alonso20 on why he ended up at Florida over Florida State pic.twitter.com/MWH5j0dDpI
Alonso, of course, played for Florida from 2014-16, leading the Gators to consecutive College World Series appearances each of his final two seasons. He left school early to become a second-round draft pick of the Mets in 2016 and made his big-league debut last year, hitting 53 home runs to break the rookie record.
Perez played for Martin from 1989-91, twice leading the Seminoles to Omaha.
Despite making 17 trips to Omaha in his 40-year tenure, Martin never won a national championship.
Martin ended his career with an 11-game losing streak to the Gators, who won the 2017 national championship. The Seminoles dropped 16 of Martin's final 17 meetings against Florida, giving the Gators a 77-76 all-time record against FSU since 1980.
His son and longtime assistant, Mike Martin Jr, succeeded him and is in his first season as head coach.