New York Mets' star Pete Alonso is affectionately known around the MLB as the Polar Bear.

Tonight, Pete Alonso is in need of several Polar Bear sized hugs.

Alonso was involved in a downright terrifying accident Sunday evening as he made his way to the Mets' Spring Training facility in Port St. Lucie, FL.  The aftermath of the accident was provided by Alonso's wife Haley, and was first reported by Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated.

According to reports, Alonso's Ford F-250 flipped three consecutive times after it was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light.

 

Alonso spoke about the incident on Monday:

“Yesterday I got in a really kinda brutal car accident. … To me this is just really special to be here.

This is a really special spring training because yesterday was a really close experience to death.”

 

He continued saying:

“I'm thankful to be alive, I'm really thankful that I'm healthy, very thankful to be here. Anything can happen at any given moment. I'm just really, really blessed to be here.

One moment I was coming here to work, coming to spring training, and next thing I know I'm kicking my windshield in trying to get out of a flipped-over car. Just really blessed to be here. Thankful nothing is wrong. Also thank you Ford for having great engineering.”

 

Alonso was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the collision, and he was able to walk away from the incident unharmed. No reports have surfaced yet regarding the status of the other driver.

 

Alonso is coming off a very productive season with the Mets last year, putting up a (.262) batting average while adding (37) home runs and (94) RBIs. Alonso is entering his 4th season with the Mets. Spring Training games begin March 17th.

 

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