Drive into the city and there’s no missing the large, rotating electronic billboards with a stoic face staring out at his new home.

“ALONS-OOO,” one read. Another leaned into his nickname: “POLAR BEAR PETE IS HERE,” it declared in vibrant black and orange, with a yelling figure alongside it.

The real Polar Bear Pete then mounted the steps of a dais in the B&O Warehouse and sat among the three men who made this reality come to life: agent Scott Boras, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias and team principal owner David Rubenstein.

The room was full. There were onlookers from the street peering through the windows for a glimpse of this new player. Rubenstein said his email has been flooded with celebratory notes.

Pete Alonso is a Baltimore Oriole.

“This is a very momentous and historic day for the Orioles franchise,” Elias said, and there’s truth to that. Here sat a player who just signed a $155 million contract, the largest in team history since Chris Davis’ ill-fated extension almost a decade ago.

The Orioles, well and truly, shed a cloak of frugality and made a splash, and the baseball world sat up and noticed.

Don’t believe that? Just listen to how Boras, the super agent who represents many of the game’s biggest stars (among them Orioles infielders Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg), spoke of the phone calls he received from that trio.

“The minute it’s done, it has that immediate impact, the excitement,” Boras said. “I wish you all could hear it, because it’s meaningful. It gives them a sense of pride and confidence that illustrates that this franchise is committed. And I thank you, David, for bringing that to players.”

As Alonso spoke of what drew him to Baltimore, the reasons were multifold. Among them was the meeting with manager Craig Albernaz, who exhibited his authentic enthusiasm.

Another was how Alonso’s spray chart might work at Camden Yards, left field wall be damned. A third was the talent around Alonso in the lineup. And, although the 31-year-old made no direct mention of the $155 million, financial commitment helps.

The scene that played out Friday afternoon — which included a stuffed polar bear on the same dais at which a real life “Polar Bear” sat — was one of accomplishment and joy.

Sure, the Orioles must still address their pitching staff. Yes, the last first baseman to receive a large deal played a role in Baltimore’s demise and kicked off a long-lasting rebuild.

But set aside those doubts for a moment and listen to Alonso dream large.

“We want to make good on it,” Alonso said of his contract. “I’m going to take care of things on the field, win as many ballgames as possible and hold up a trophy at the end of the year, and immerse ourselves in the community.”

This all moved fairly quickly. The Orioles were heavily involved in pursuing designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, and they showed their financial might by offering him a five-year, $150 million deal. Schwarber returned to the Phillies, instead, on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, Baltimore had shaken hands with Alonso and added a major piece to its lineup. He’s coming off a season in which he hit 38 home runs with a .272 batting average and an .871 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Alonso is the sort of middle-of-the-order bat who can help elevate the hitters around him.

The pitch from the Orioles on Tuesday into Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, at the winter meetings was comprehensive. Alonso said the “sheer detail” that showed Baltimore thought of every angle impressed him.

“They gave a ton of examples where they said, ‘Hey, with your contribution, this is what we look like,’” Alonso said. “They did a deep dive on the renovations that are not just going to be going on at the park but are going to be going on at the spring training complex in Sarasota. And then, most importantly, I think like, the biggest thing is how they see the game and how they see the future moving forward. It was the entire blueprint. ...

“Pretty much what they told me was, ‘Hey, this is where we see you and how we’re gonna get there. You’re gonna be a big part in winning a championship here,’” Alonso continued. “Them pretty much giving me the entire blueprint of the organization is extremely refreshing. I mean, as we talked and not just went through things in minutia, the organization and stuff like that, just getting to know them as men and people, it really gave me a good insight on what my days are going to be like every day inside the clubhouse and what this culture’s going to be like. There’s a lot of talent, there’s a lot of young talent, and I feel like I can help this team achieve greatness.”

A wild-card piece of the presentation was Albernaz. Before meeting with Alonso, the manager said he doesn’t give free agents a pitch on the team. He wants them to see what he’s all about and give them an opportunity to interview him. That approach worked well on Alonso.

“A particular manager happened to show up that none of us had met,” Boras said. “He did a remarkable job of making someone in a room understand how that would be if he played here. That’s a very hard thing to do in an hour.”

Boras has been in more of these meetings than just about anyone in baseball. He pulled Elias aside at the conclusion of it and told him, “Something happened here where I felt the player and organization felt something.”

In the days since that first meeting, Alonso hasn’t lost his excitement to play under Albernaz and bench coach Donnie Ecker, who also made his mark in discussions.

“When you have the passion, not just from the manager but the front office, ownership, players, having that group attack to whoever is coming into town or wherever we go, that’s really special,” Alonso said. “As we kind of grow chemistry and get closer over time and during the regular season, it’s like, everyone is going to want to run through the wall for each other.”

Albernaz downplayed his involvement, but then again, he didn’t try to be anything other than himself. And, as is his way, Albernaz joked following the press conference when it was suggested to him that Alonso will be his cleanup hitter.

“Is he hitting in the middle of the lineup?” he said, cocking his head in mock confusion. “Leadoff hitter?”

Then Albernaz laughed and answered truthfully about the impact Alonso will have on this group.

“He’s a veteran in terms of service time, in terms of experience, and also playing in New York and being battle tested in the postseason,” Albernaz said. “To have that, along with his track record, as well as playing every day and posting up every day for the boys, that’s a huge thing for our guys.”

It’s also a huge thing for Baltimore.

There is ample time between now and spring training for additional moves, and Rubenstein said there are “resources to do other deals, as well, and we don’t have particular constraints.”

So for now embrace Polar Bear Pete. His face is on the billboards around town. Soon he’ll leave the chilly winter to begin launching home runs at Camden Yards.