Pete Alonso has hit plenty of memorable home runs at Citi Field. On Tuesday night, he added another, this time in a Baltimore Orioles uniform.
Alonso launched the 300th home run of his career dramatically, tying the game in the ninth inning before the Orioles eventually defeated the New York Mets, 7-5, in 11 innings.
The milestone arrived in front of 28,097 fans, many of whom spent years watching Alonso send baseballs into the seats as a member of the Mets.
Alonso Delivers No. 300 in the Ninth
New York was leading 3-2 in the ninth, and closer Kodai Senga needed two more outs to secure his eighth save of the season. Alonso quickly changed those plans.
After working his way into a 2-0 count, Alonso hammered the next pitch toward left field. The drive struck the facing of the second deck before dropping into the first deck.
Before leaving the batter’s box, Alonso screamed and slammed his bat to the ground. Then he began his trip around the bases at a ballpark where he had delivered so many similar moments.
Alonso became the 20th player in Major League Baseball history to hit his 300th career home run against a former team. Andrew McCutchen was the most recent player to do so, hitting No. 300 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 14, 2024.
Alonso also joined an extremely short list of players to reach the milestone. According to MLB.com, only three players have reached 300 home runs during their first eight major league seasons: Alonso, Ralph Kiner and Albert Pujols. Kiner and Pujols each had 319 over that span.
For the Citi Field crowd, however, the numbers told only part of the story.
Alonso has now hit 124 home runs at the stadium, and fans cheered as their former first baseman rounded the bases. The reception soon turned into chants expressing displeasure with Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns over Alonso’s departure from New York.
Then came another familiar sight.
Fans wanted a curtain call.
Alonso’s Orioles teammates encouraged him to leave the dugout and acknowledge the crowd, and he obliged.
“I appreciate all the support for all the years I’ve been here,” Alonso told reporters afterward. “They recognize that, and I appreciate that. It’s a two-way street.”
Alonso Shifts the Attention to Coby Mayo
As memorable as the home run was, Alonso wasn’t interested in making the entire night about himself.
The Orioles still had a game to win.
Coby Mayo ultimately delivered the decisive blow with a three-run inside-the-park home run in the 11th inning, putting Baltimore ahead and completing a wild night.
“How about Coby Mayo?” Alonso said. “Again, it takes a whole village [to win this game]. I’m just so proud of this group.”
Alonso acknowledged what No. 300 meant to him, but quickly returned the focus to Baltimore’s late-season objectives.
“I’m super happy about the individual stuff. No. 300 is a nice round number, but I’m so proud of this group by the way we fought today,” he said. “It was an unbelievable team win.
“We are in a postseason push now. All these games are important as we head down the road. We are playing some very important games. … We want to [play] in October. All these games count.”
Mets Fans Return Alonso’s Historic Baseball
Meanwhile, another story was unfolding in the stands.
Mets fan Michael Shaw and his friends Nick Maldarella and Chris Makarious ended up with the historic baseball. For Shaw, catching a piece of Alonso history at Citi Field was difficult to put into words.
“It was euphoric. It was unbelievable,” Shaw said.
The three fans returned the baseball to Alonso, and they didn’t walk away empty-handed. They received souvenir bats and balls, Alonso autographed their Mets jerseys, and the group even received three cans of Miller Lite.
Alonso went further.
He hugged each fan, invited them to attend a game at Camden Yards, and offered restaurant recommendations for a potential trip to Baltimore.
“The moment is everything. We are here right now. We are about to see him. That’s everything right there,” Shaw said. “Star-struck are the only words. We talk a lot, and I’m lost for words. He is an unbelievable guy. He is just as nice as I thought it would be. Classic man.”
For Alonso, career homer No. 300 could have happened almost anywhere. Instead, it came at the ballpark where Mets fans had watched so many of the previous 299.
This time, they watched him circle the bases for Baltimore.
And they still asked him to come out for a curtain call.
