‘It makes my day’: Miami Marlins’ Alcantara, Segura help at baseball event in Doral

About midway through an hour-long field day at Doral Meadow Park, one kid asked the question some of his counterparts had on their mind.

“Is he the real, live Sandy?”

Yes, that was the real, live Sandy Alcantara — the Miami Marlins’ ace, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner — taking part in an event on Tuesday night with more than 100 elementary school-aged baseball players. That was him catching their throws, watching them hit balls off tees, running alongside them.

And that was him signing dozens and dozens of autographs as kids moved from station to station.

“They know me,” Alcantara said. “They love when they see a baseball player get close to them. When I’m close to the kids, it makes my day.”

It’s hard not to recognize Alcantara nowadays. He is quickly staking his claim as one of baseball’s top pitchers and a household name not just in Miami but in the league overall.

Alcantara is the first Marlins player to win a Cy Young Award — and the first NL pitcher to win the award in unanimous fashion since the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2014.

He led MLB in innings pitched (228 2/3) and complete games (six) and worked at least eight innings in 14 of his starts — the most by any MLB pitcher since 2014. Alcantara’s 2.28 ERA was the second-lowest in Marlins’ history (behind Kevin Brown’s 1.89 in 1996) and in the National League in 2022 (behind Julio Urias’ 2.16). He held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 25 of his 32 starts.

He went on a run of 13 consecutive starts with at least seven innings pitched heading into the All-Star Break and gave up no more than two earned runs in 12 of those outings. Eight of those 13 games came against teams that made the postseason — three against the Mets, two against the Braves, two against the Phillies and one against the Cardinals.

Alcantara, teammate Jean Segura and mascot Billy The Marlin all participated in the community event, the latest held by the team this week ahead of their free FanFest at loanDepot park on Saturday.

“It’s all fun,” Alcantara said. “Coming here, hanging out with the kids. It’s something that’s always going to be special for me.”

Added Segura, who signed with the Marlins last month and brought his 8-year-old son Juan Diego to the event: “It’s just a pleasure to come here and spend time with them and teaching a little bit of baseball. It’s my first season in Miami. Why not share some moments with the kids and spend time with them?”

Now, the duo is preparing for spring training. Alcantara will report to Jupiter over the weekend. He has a bullpen scheduled for Sunday, the day before pitchers and catchers who are participating in the World Baseball Classic are slated to report. Segura and the rest of the position players will report by Feb. 21, when the Marlins host their first full-squad workout.