Jeremy Mand: a quick chat with Mets hitting and approach coach Donnie Stevenson

 

On Tuesday, July 12th, I had a brief phone conversation with Donnie Stevenson. The Mets hitting guru who has helped the Mets esteemed group of bats through tough times this season. 

Donnie, who was first introduced to the club by Pete Alonso after a tough stretch in early May, believes that his red blooded, dogged approach to training and preparation will help the Mets in the second half of the season, and into the playoffs. It's also not hard to see the impact he has had on Pete Alonso, who smashed records on his way to winning the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Below is my record of our chat:

Question: For Mets fans who don’t know what you’ve done for the team, can you tell them who you are? 

Donnie: Donnie "Diesel" Stevenson is the hitting and approach coach for the New York Mets.

Question: So what did you think of Pete Alonso’s performance in the Home Run Derby last night?

Donnie: Polar Bear, he was ripping heaters, those double-deckers weren't worth the check, so he hit it into the triple deck.

Question: Did you provide him any hitting advice on going into last night?

Donnie: Just everything we trained for, I said to him see it, believe it, achieve it. It's all about the fun an excitement, always staying positive. Success is always defined by your mental state, and your worst and best ally is in your mind and he was listening to the right voice all night.

Question: I saw you instructing Pete through some pretty intense workouts on SNY, were you satisfied with how those workouts went?

Donnie: Petey bear is a warrior. He is Mr. baseball. He puts all of his heart and soul into the game. Everything is about Pete, and that’s how Donnie wants him to represent.

Question: Does he owe you any credit for his accomplishments last night?

Donnie: No credit goes to Donnie Diesel. Donnie diesel doesn’t need credit. I know where my heart is and I know where his heart is too. He takes all the credit--Donnie does the fun around the scene, and Pete does the work. Pete earns the check, Pete puts it in the upper deck.

Question: You’re a pretty big guy, Pete’s a pretty big guy, do you think you could hit the ball as far as Pete can?

Donnie: I wouldn’t be Donnie Diesel if I couldn’t do it myself.

Question: What’s next for Donnie Stevenson?

Donnie: Donnie is blessed to be with this team, to be with the New York Mets, they are going to ride this wave straight to playoffs, straight to the World Series. Donnie Stevenson will be there with them. What’s next? Donnie's just going to keep the mind right straight on getting into the playoffs, straight to the World Series. LFGM, there is no Met fan too small. 

                    

            Of course, for serious readers, the story behind Donnie goes back to the tough stretch right before Chili Davis was let go. Pete Alonso, in a lighthearted effort to encourage his struggling mates along, donned the character "Donnie," the hard nosed drill sergeant hitting and approach coach super guru, himself, and gave the team a rousing pep talk. The character Pete played was then referenced in interviews after the game, confusing beat writers, and even Mets Owner Steve Cohen for a few moments. Of course, it was fairly obvious after listening for a few minutes that Donnie wasn't actually a real person, but a character. Steve Cohen got in on the fun too in the end. 

        

Pete's alter ego took on so well in the underworlds of Mets fandom, that the Mets marketing department needed face to play Donnie, and in June they found one in actor Brett Azar. Brett also happens to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's body double and stuntman in the last two Terminator movies.

So, while I was on the phone with Donnie, I thought it was only right to ask Brett about himself too, and how he landed the gig of Pete's "Donnie Stevenson" character.

Question: So I understand you’re real name is Brett Azar?

Brett: Yes Sir.

Question: Are you a Mets fan?

Brett: Yes, 100%.

Question: So how did you get into this whole Donnie Stevenson role?

Brett: My acting career was growing, I got the role as the Iron Sheik on NBC’s Young Rock; and the marketing department for the Mets reached out to me to play the real Donnie Stevenson through Instagram. It just so happened the marketing director knew my fiancée, Linda, so they contacted me, we shared photos, and that's how it happened.

Question: Did you actually meet the team on May 1st?

Brett: We filmed that skit in June and met everyone. I got to go on the field. Pete brought us into the batting cages and I got to meet Lindor, Pillar, and Rojas---who was amazing. I also met the actual hitting coach Hugh Quattlebaum, who asked if I had any advice for the hitters, and that's when I came up with the line "if it ain't double deck it ain’t worth the check" -- it was really something. 

Question: I understand that you’re an actor, what are some of the films Mets fans might notice you in?

Brett: Recently played Iron Sheik with Dwayne Johnson. The show plays on Tuesday nights for NBC, and it will be in season 2 coming out next winter. 

I'm also Arnold’s body and stunt double for when they need naked Arnold in terminator movies; they CGI his head on to my body.

Question: What was it like to meet the team as Donnie?

Brett: Cool to play the Donnie character, to meet the team as Donnie. He didn’t break character; they were treating me like I was the real Donnie Stevenson, then I got to go to the game with all the fans there; after the commercial aired; the Mets fans are hardcore; to feel the acceptance from the fans; and everyone’s stopping you for a picture; it’s a high like no others; I totally thank Pete and the Mets for that.