Pete Alonso stepped up to bat in the first inning of what might be his last home game at Citi Field and received a warm welcome from the crowd.
“Are you going to tip your cap or something?” Alonso remembered home plate umpire John Libka asking him. “I can give you time right here.”
“Oh, yeah,” Alonso replied. “I was really happy that John reminded me.” He waved his helmet to the sellout crowd of 43,139 and tapped his helmet to his heart after the first of several standing ovations.
“It’s wild. It’s something you just really — you kind of hear about or read about or kind of see in movies,” Alonso said.
In the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night, Alonso went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. With just a week left in the season, New York is in a good spot for the second NL wild card, leading Atlanta by two games for the last postseason spot.
“This is what our identity is,” Alonso said. “We fight and scratch for every pitch, every out. A game like today really shows the character and who we are, who the 2024 Mets are.”
Alonso has a batting average of .244 with 31 home runs and 86 RBIs. At 29 years old, he has a one-year contract worth $20.5 million and can become a free agent after the World Series. He is represented by Scott Boras, an agent known for exploring the market.
“POLAR BEAR PLEASE STAY” and “SAVE THE POLAR BEAR” were two signs held up by fans, referring to Alonso’s nickname.
“That’s what makes this city such a special city,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I got goosebumps when that happened.”
A four-time All-Star who became a fan favorite after hitting 53 home runs in 2019 and winning NL Rookie of the Year, Alonso says he is not focused on free agency. Instead, he is concentrating on winning his first World Series title, which would be the Mets’ first since 1986.
