Fletcher looked entirely comfortable with the situation. This big guy picked him up, and sure, Fletcher had never met him before, and there were a whole bunch of other people crammed around and staring, but there was no squirming in those arms.

That big guy was Pete Alonso. But at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter on Tuesday, Fletcher may as well have been the star.

Alonso, the Orioles first baseman who clubbed the go-ahead home run in Monday’s comeback win, toured BARCS, met adoptable animals and donated $10,000 with his wife, Haley. The donation supports a critical animal shelter in Baltimore that opened in 2005, and it’s just another example of how Alonso is investing in his new community.

“We’re here in Baltimore. We don’t want to be just, ‘Yeah, OK, we’re living here,’” Alonso said. “We want to be able to support the local community and local organizations any way we can, so it’s not just baseball for us. We want to embrace everything. Not just living here, but being able to give back to the community any way we can, and we think this is an awesome first start for us.”

Alonso met Fletcher and other dogs as he toured the facility in Cherry Hill with Jennifer Brause, the executive director and founder of BARCS. He met volunteers and staff members and learned more about the operation.

Alonso and his wife live with two adopted dogs, so donating to BARCS and raising visibility for the shelter was important to him. His dogs have changed his family’s life “for the better,” and he hopes to help more animals find loving homes.

“Baltimore’s welcomed us with open arms, and we just want to be able to give back,” Alonso said. “We’re really happy to be here and for this to kind of be the first thing that we do.”

Alonso said he and his wife, through the Alonso Foundation, hope to make more inroads in the community. He created the Alonso Foundation in 2020, and his goal is to “be an ally to people and all living beings.”

“We want to stand up for the innocent,” Alonso said. “We’ve done a lot with animals. We’ve done a lot with youths, kids, veterans.”

The foundation has also supported hurricane relief efforts and donated to support firefighters during the Southern California wildfires in 2025, Alonso said.

BARCS is an open-admission shelter in Baltimore, meaning it doesn’t turn away animals in need. It takes in an average of 12,000 animals annually — more than 30 a day. The shelter is sometimes stretched beyond capacity, and in those moments, donations, volunteers and fosters are critical.

At the end of a media gaggle, during which Alonso held Fletcher in his arms, the slugger lifted the dog toward his face and kissed him on the snout.

“Hopefully we can get a home for you, buddy,” Alonso said.

Fletcher, as chill as ever, seemed to smirk. That’s the goal.