NEW YORK – If this was indeed a farewell, Pete Alonso went out with a bang.
Over the past six seasons, the Flushing first baseman has delivered memory after memory for the adoring patrons of Citi Field. Alonso is set to become a free agent when the Mets’ storybook season comes to an end and has understandably been non-committal about his future. A defeat on Friday might have meant the end of a great run for a great 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 NLCS, Alonso scooped a Jack Flaherty curveball well below the strike zone and sent it toward the Big Apple in center. As a desperate Citi Field stood up, the man of the hour admired his handiwork as he strolled along the baseline before throwing his bat skyward about 10 feet from first base. It was Alonso’s fourth long ball of the postseason and the 106th of his career played at Citi Field, by far the most in the stadium’s history.
That swing sparked a celebration, perhaps the last of many in what has been an unforgettable year in Queens. New York won Game 5 against the Dodgers 12-6. Their season is still breathing for now. Still, the odds remain long as the series heads west, with the Dodgers still leading three games to two. If the Mets want to play another home game this season, they’ll have to conjure up two more unlikely performances in LA.
Alonso offered Mets fans a chance to dream with an early swing.
“Pete with a big one to set the tone,” Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza said at his post-game media conference. “We needed it today [and] to continue adding because we saw it – they’re not going to close. They will continue to put pressure on you. That’s a really good foul there. I’m proud of the boys. Definitely Pete, a big one in the first inning.
Moments after his opening volley, Alonso traveled through a tunnel of atta boys and punches to the far end of the home dugout. There, he took part in the team’s usual home run celebration: a photo with José Iglesias’ huge plastic OMG sign. Traditionally, the homering hero is accompanied by everyone who scored on the play. In this case, it was Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, the other two most prominent Mets hitters during Alonso’s tenure.
The three posed, their arms draped around each other and wide grins across their faces. It’s the kind of photo that—whether the polar bear returns to Queens or not—should one day find its way onto a frame and on the wall in Alonso’s home.
When the Mets’ magical run ends, whether in Los Angeles or beyond, Alonso will become a free agent. His platform year wasn’t strong by his standards. His .788 OPS and 34 home runs were both the lowest full-season marks of his career. But he shined in October, with an OPS of .990 and a career high in clutch swings. Whether that will make a difference this season remains to be seen.
The Tampa-raised slugger is now important here, in this unforgiving metropolis. He is important to this franchise and fan base. But awarding a nine-figure contract to a power-oriented first baseman with questionable athleticism who will turn 30 in December is a risky play outside the modus operandi of Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
The future for Alonso is hazy. But predictably, he focuses on the present. When asked if he considered that Friday might be his last home game as a Met, he quickly said “no.”
“I was just pretty much focused on competing and trying to win and get this thing to Game 6 and contribute anyway I could to help the team win,” he said. “That’s about it. That’s what this postseason is about: it’s about winning. It’s about surviving and living to see another day until there’s no more baseball.
Alonso is an interesting figure, someone who some in the league find corny, overly eager and uncomfortably serious. The image of him taking a deep breath before a losing effort in the 2022 Home Run Derby only furthered that reputation. But within his own clubhouse, Alonso is loved and respected for who he is. In a sport with countless players who are too cool for school, Alonso doesn’t shy away from showing how much he cares. And the same qualities that rub some people the wrong way endear him to the people he spends the most time with.
“He was headstrong,” a former teammate told Yahoo Sports. ‘But that’s who he is. It’s 100 percent real. I would ride for him.”
The Mets slugger doesn’t float through life with the gentleness of Francisco Lindor or the effortlessness of David Wright. He moves awkwardly, as if someone is trying to run away with a heavy backpack and pockets full of pennies. His many post-home run jaunts around the bases are more of a waddle than a trot. Another former teammate once described him as a golden retriever who just wants to be played.
But while no one would describe Alonso as cool, what he can conjure up with his immense baseball talent is downright polar. That happened again on Friday.
Alonso’s fire-start shot was just the start of a high-scoring, poorly thrown slugfest. New York broke the game open early against Dodgers starter Flaherty. The Souther California-raised righthander was great for LA in Game 1, posting seven scoreless runs. But in Game 5, he was a fizzy soda, a pitching machine in uniform. Flaherty’s fastball was nearly two ticks lower compared to his season average, and none of his secondary offerings were sharp.
The Mets capitalized on five runs in a third inning, hitting four singles and scoring two free passes on their way to an 8-1 lead. Citi Field, which has had little to shout about in this series, was delighted with the thrashing.
Los Angeles fought back into the game in the middle innings on a three-run crank by rookie Andy Pages, his second of the game, that narrowed the deficit to five. A comeback was looming, forcing the Mets to turn to their next best relief option: flamethrower Ryne Stanek. The wavy-haired right-hander delivered the performance of his career, throwing 2 1/3 innings, the most he has ever thrown in a single outing, to take control of the game. Closer Edwin Díaz also went past his typical limit, getting the final six outs, capping off an enlightening Mets win.
Thanks to Dodgers bulk reliever Brent Honeywell, who put up 4 2/3 innings after Flaherty’s early departure, the LA bullpen is set up fantastically for Games 6 and 7. The Mets, on the other hand, cleared their room to win Game 5, getting six outs from Díaz and seven from Stanek. Both high-leverage weapons will remain available and engaged for the rest of the way, but given recent workloads they could be less effective. This series, as it returns to the West Coast, remains firmly in LA’s hands.
But the Mets have at least made this thing interesting, which shouldn’t be a surprise. While they may not return to Citi Field this year, this thrilling team ride gave 43,841 souls another unforgettable evening under the lights in Queens.
And Alonso, who lit this place up more times than anyone else, was the coolest guy in the building.
