Yonder Alonso feels at home among Hurricanes

SAN DIEGO -- There can be something disrupting and halting about being traded from the only organization you've ever known, but Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso felt right at home after he was traded to San Diego from Cincinnati in December.

Alonso, who played at the University of Miami from 2006-08, joined a Padres organization that had four former Hurricanes teammates: outfielder Blake Tekotte, who made his Major League debut in 2011 and catchers Eddy Rodriguez, Jason Hagerty and Yasmani Grandal.

"It feels like I'm home because all of those guys are already here," Alonso said Saturday during FanFest. "For me, it feels like college all over again except that we're all now more mature and wiser."

Adding to the family feel is that Alonso and Rodriguez were best friends at Coral Gables High, which is located a handful of miles from the University of Miami campus.


(mlb.com)