My game story, “October 3, 2024: Mets shock Brewers, win NL Wild Card Series on Pete Alonso’s home run,” was just published on the SABR website. Before that four-bagger, Alonso’s biggest homer in his five-year career were his four walk-offs, one hit in each of his first four seasons. Last season was the first in which he did not hit a game-ending home run.

The first was on September 3, 2020 against the Yankees on a day that the Mets honored Tom Seaver. It was hit in the bottom of the 10th with the game tied 7-7 and two runners on base. It was the season’s last Subway Series game and enabled the Mets to even the six-game series. Alonso blasted the ball into the left-field stands in a heavy rain.

After the game, Luis Rojas said this about Alonso’s homer: “We’re always expecting something special from his at-bats. . . . It was an emotional day for us, a special day honoring and paying tribute to the greatest Met of all-time.”¹ Seaver had passed away the previous Monday from dementia and the coronavirus.

Alonso’s second walk-off homer ended the second game of a twin bill on August 12, 2021 against the Nationals in the bottom of the seventh. No runners were on base. The Mets had won the first game, 5-4.

Anthony Bieber wrote, “Alonso’s 25th home run was a high drive to left that seemed to take an hour and a half to come down. When it did, [it fell] just over the reach of the leaping Andrew Stevenson.”²

The hit enabled the Mets to sweep the twin bill.

The third game-ending blast occurred on May 19, 2022 in Queens. In the bottom of the 10th with the Mets down 6-5, Alonso led off against new reliever Giovanny Gallegos and lofted the second pitch into deep left field, scoring Francisco Lindor, who had started the inning on second base.

He swatted his fourth four-bag game-ender against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 17, 2023 in CitiField in the bottom of the 10th with Jeff McNeil on first and the Mets behind 7-5. Despite playing while sick, launched his game-winner into “leftfield’s second deck.”

David Lennon wrote, “when Pete Fairbanks threw him a 98-mph four-seamer, Alonso treated it like batting practice, muscling the game-winner for what the Mets hope is a season-turning victory.”³

After the game, Alonso shared his in-game philosophy:

“There’s never a doubt in our minds,” Alonso said, his nose red and eyes watery. “We keep fighting, we keep doing the best we can, every single day, every pitch, every out. And that’s all we can do. Do the best we can, and see how it plays out.”⁴

Notes

1. Jerry Beach, “Alonso homer in 10th lifts Mets over Yankees,” The Post Standard, September 4, 2020: B1. ↩︎
2. Anthony Rieber, “Walk-off’s the walk, talk’s talk,” Newsday, August 13, 2021: A45.
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3. David Lennon, “Kids may be better than alright,” Newsday, May 8, 2023: A59. ↩︎
4. Lennon. ↩︎