Mets' Pete Alonso delivers polar opposite of his recent performance at plate with go-ahead homer in Game 3 vs. Brewers
Pete Alonso #20 of the Mets hits a home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game Three of the Wild Card Series at American Family Field on October 03, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Credit: Getty Images/Patrick McDermott
MILWAUKEE
As long as Pete Alonso still had a bat in his hands, to paraphrase the original Mr. October, he had the opportunity to change the narrative. And in Thursday night’s do-or-die Game 3, with everything at stake for the Mets, their homegrown slugger shrugged off the mental chains of his recent misfortune to hammer the greatest hit of his orange-and-blue career.
Mired in a perplexing slump, seemingly sapped of his usual power, Alonso stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with runners on first and third, the Mets trailing 2-0 in the deciding game of the Wild Card Series and down to the final two outs of their season. He faced Devin Williams, the Brewers’ supernatural closer, and worked the count to 3-and-1.
What happened next is now the stuff of Mets legend.
Williams tried to catch Alonso off-balance with a changeup, but he reached out to smack a high-arcing fly ball to rightfield. Alonso — the author of 226 homers, third-most in Mets history — knew it was gone off the bat. Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, who watched from the basepaths, weren’t so sure. But the ball sneaked over the fence, an estimated 367 feet away, to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.
Alonso rounded first base and gestured in a chef’s kiss, the coup de grace to the Brewers, as he personally delivered an incredible, improbable 4-2 victory that sent the Mets to a Division Series showdown with the Phillies.
“It’s just something that you practice in the backyard as a kid,” Alonso said, champagne streaming down his face, cradling what he called a playoff pumpkin. “Words can’t explain it. It’s just unreal.”
The Mets wildly spilled from the dugout, jumping up and down and pumping their fists while watching Alonso take his triumphant trot around the bases.
For weeks, Alonso looked as if he were potentially paving his way out of Flushing, and it appeared the baggage of his looming free agency might have been weighing on his mind. Since Sept. 19, the date of his last home run, he had gone 5-for-41 (.122) without an extra-base hit, 13 strikeouts and one RBI before that ninth-inning redemption shot.
For the record, Alonso’s home run drought lasted a total of 52 plate appearances before he smacked the only one the Mets hit in the entire Wild Card Series. Talk about perfect timing. And the perfect guy for the job.
“He deserves this moment,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said as the Mets, popping bottles behind him, chanted “Pete! Pete! Pete!’’
“We’re talking about someone who is a great Met. He’s given a tremendous amount to this franchise. To get a truly signature moment like that will go down in the history books that Mets fans will talk about for generations. He deserves it. I’m glad he’s got it.”
Given that Stearns will be the guy making the roster decisions in the offseason, that quote is something to keep in mind. Maybe Alonso’s shine as a Flushing icon got dirtied up a bit during his subpar regular season, but his heroic turn in Thursday’s thriller — the Mets’ second “instant classic” this week alone — has renewed his fan-favorite card, likely elevating it to lifetime status.
“People were probably doubting him too much, as if the contract year was affecting him,” Francisco Lindor said. “At the end of the day, if Pete does this in the postseason, he’s gonna get paid. So, you know, let Pete do his thing.”
If Thursday’s homer did indeed unleash the Polar Bear inside Alonso, the Phillies could have a beast on the loose at Citizens Bank Park when the Division Series begins on Saturday.
Alonso had a down season homer-wise, dropping to 34 from his 46 the previous year, but October is a month of impactful short-sample sizes, and he’s a streaky slugger by nature.
“It’s that next-pitch mentality,” Alonso said. “You can’t change what’s happened in the past, and every at-bat, every pitch, every inning, I want to do the best I can. I’m focused on that.”
Alonso also had to shed a few embarrassing gaffes along the way. During Wednesday’s Game 2, he killed a rally — and likely cost the Mets a run in an eventual 5-3 loss — when he stepped on his bat and tumbled to the ground rather than beating out a double-play grounder.
And earlier in Game 3, Alonso dropped a routine foul pop in the seventh, letting it clang off his glove to extend the inning.
Alonso never has copped to thinking all that much about the potential end of his Flushing career. Now he won’t have to for another week or so, at a minimum.
“I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason, and you just never know why,” Nimmo said. “But this elation that he’s feeling right now, I’m sure he’s never going to forget it.”
Neither will the Mets, their fans, or anyone lucky enough to experience Alonso’s redemption story Thursday night.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.