NEW YORK – If this was truly a farewell, Pete Alonso left with a bang.
For the past six seasons, the Flushing first baseman has delivered souvenir after souvenir to the beloved patrons of Citi Field. Alonso, who will become a free agent whenever the Mets’ season comes to an end, is understandably noncommittal about his future. A defeat on Friday would have marked, perhaps, the end of a magnificent streak for a magnificent player.
But Alonso and his indomitable Mets would not go down so easily.
In the bottom of the first inning of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, Alonso took a Jack Flaherty curveball well below the strike zone and sent it rocketing toward the Big Apple in the middle. As a desperate Citi Field rose to its feet, the man of the hour admired his handiwork, walking down the baseline before throwing his bat into the sky about 10 feet from first base. It was Alonso’s fourth long ball this postseason and the 106th of his career at Citi Field, by far the most in the stadium’s history.
That swing started a party, perhaps the last of many in what has been an unforgettable year in Queens. New York took Game 5 over the Dodgers 12-6. His season, for now, is still breathing. However, the odds remain long as the series heads west, with the Dodgers still up three games to two. If the Mets want to play another home game this season, they’ll need to conjure up two more improbable performances in Los Angeles.
Alonso, with an early swing, offered Mets fans a chance to dream.
“Pete with a big one to set the tone,” Mets captain Carlos Mendoza said in his postgame press conference. “We needed it today (and) to continue adding because we saw it: They are not going to close. They will continue to pressure you. That’s a really good offense there. I’m proud of the boys. Definitely Pete, a big one in the first inning.”
Moments after his opening salvo, Alonso traveled through a tunnel of attacks and slaps to the other end of the home dugout. There, he participated in the team’s usual home run celebration: a photo with José Iglesias’ huge plastic OMG sign. According to tradition, the home run hero is joined by anyone else who scored on the play. In this case, it was Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, the Mets’ two other top hitters during Alonso’s tenure.
The three of them posed, hugging each other and with toothy smiles on their faces. It’s the kind of photograph that, regardless of whether the polar bear returns to Queens, should one day find its place in a frame and on a wall in the Alonso house.
When the Mets’ magical run ends, whether in Los Angeles or beyond, Alonso will become a free agent. His platform year was not, by his standards, very good. His .788 OPS and 34 home runs were the lowest marks of his career in a full season. But he shined in October, posting a .990 OPS and a series of notable swings. It remains to be seen if that makes a difference this offseason.
The Tampa-bred slugger matters here now, in this unforgiving metropolis. He is important to this franchise and its fan base. But giving a nine-figure contract to a power-focused first baseman with questionable athleticism who will turn 30 in December is a risky move outside of Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns’ modus operandi.
Alonso’s future is unclear. But, as expected, it is focused on the present. When asked if he thought about the fact that Friday might have been his last home game as a Met, he responded with a quick “no.”
“I was pretty focused on competing and trying to win and take this to Game 6 and contribute in whatever way I could to help the team win,” he said. “That’s all. That’s what this postseason is all about: winning. It’s about surviving and living to see another day until there is no more baseball left.”
Alonso is an interesting figure, whom some in the league consider corny, overzealous and uncomfortably serious. The image of him taking a deep breath before losing in the 2022 Home Run Derby only furthered that reputation. But within his own club, Alonso is much loved and respected for who he is. In a sport that features countless players with too-cool-for-school attitudes, Alonso doesn’t shy away from showing how much he cares. And the same traits that annoy some endear him to the people he spends most of his time with.
“He was quirky,” a former teammate told Yahoo Sports. “But, that’s just how he is. It is 100 percent genuine. “I would ride for him.”
The Mets slugger doesn’t float through life with the smoothness of Francisco Lindor or the ease of David Wright. He moves awkwardly, like someone trying to run with a heavy backpack and pockets full of pennies. His numerous walks around the bases after a home run are more walks than jogs. Another former teammate once described him as a golden retriever who just wants to be played with.
But while no one would describe Alonso as great, what he is able to evoke with his immense baseball talent is absolutely polar. That’s what happened, once again, on Friday.
Alonso’s initial shot was just the beginning of a high-scoring, poorly pitched fight. New York opened the game early against Dodgers starter Flaherty. The Southern California-raised right-hander was magnificent for Los Angeles in Game 1, scoring seven shutout goals. But in Game 5, he was a flat soda, a pitching machine in uniform. Flaherty’s fastball was down nearly two ticks from his season average, and none of his secondary offerings were accurate.
The Mets took the lead in a five-run third inning, collecting four hits and drawing two free passes on their way to an 8-1 lead. Citi Field, which has had very little to boast about in this series, reveled in the blowout.
Los Angeles re-entered the game in the middle innings with a three-run crank by rookie Andy Pages, his second of the game, that cut the deficit to five. A comeback loomed, forcing the Mets to turn to their second-best relief option, flamethrower Ryne Stanek. The wavy-haired right-hander turned in the performance of his career, pitching 2 1/3 innings, the most he has ever pitched in a single outing, to keep the game under control. Closer Edwin Díaz also exceeded his typical limit, recording the final six outs to close out a comforting victory for the Mets.
Thanks to Dodgers reliever Brent Honeywell, who went 4 2/3 innings after Flaherty’s early exit, the Los Angeles bullpen is fantastically prepared for Games 6 and 7. The Mets, on the other hand, emptied their dorm room to win Game 5. getting six outs from Díaz and seven from Stanek. Both high-leverage arms will be available and involved the rest of the way, but could be less effective given their recent workload. This series, as it returns to the West Coast, remains firmly in the hands of Los Angeles.
But the Mets, at least, have made this interesting. This should not surprise us. While they may not return to Citi Field this year, this exciting team trip provided 43,841 souls with one more unforgettable evening under the lights of Queens.
And Alonso, who has lit up this place more times than anyone, was the coolest man in the building.