In the worst statistical season of his career, Pete Alonso came up with the most significant swing of his career and one of the most memorable moments in New York Mets postseason history.
He also could have very well extended his Mets career in the process.
Down to their final turn at-bat with two men on while trailing 2-0 in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series, Alonso drove Milwaukee Brewers star closer Devin Williams’ changeup the other way over the right-field fence to give the Mets the lead — one they would build on to advance to the NLDS to play the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2.
“It’s just something that you practice in the backyard as a kid,” Alonso said. “You go through those scenarios as a little kid. It’s like, ‘Alright, you’re in the playoffs down by a few runs.’ I don’t know. Words can’t explain. It’s just unreal.”
Pete Alonso saves season, dramatic homer lifts Mets to NLDS with 4-2 win over Brewers
The 2024 season, despite Alonso’s imploring that he has felt good at the plate throughout, had been a struggle through considerable stretches. The 29-year-old hit .240 with a career-low .788 OPS, 34 home runs, and 88 RBI — the lowest of his career in a 162-game season.
“It’s one of those things where it’s been hard for him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The whole year, people talk about wanting more from Pete. If you look at his numbers, it’s a pretty good year. Obviously, the standards and expectations from him, he should hit 45 or 50 home runs every year. It’s not easy. He still hit 30-something, he almost put up an .800 OPS.”
We will never know to the fullest extent how much the nagging thoughts of his future played into the equation, but this is a contract year for Alonso, who, along with super-agent Scott Boras, was originally looking to rest the market for first basemen with a $200 million deal.
This could be a tricky winter of negotiations which ultimately could lead to the departure of the slugging first baseman, the franchise’s most prolific power-hitter. And all of those questions, all of that speculation, would have likely begun had he not come through in the top of the ninth on Thursday night at American Family Field with the Brewers just two outs away from clinching their first postseason series win since 2016.
Instead, Alonso flipped the script with his first home run since Sept. 19, and the Mets are in the NLDS for the first time since they made they won the National League pennant in 2015.
“It was loud, it was noisy, he had zero extra-base hits since whenever, and as you watch the game unfold going into the ninth inning facing one of the best closers in the game, I look to my right and see Pete Alonso,” Mendoza said. “I was just like, ‘This could be it right here.’ He’s one swing away from making history. We needed a couple guys on, and there you go… You could see the whole way, you could feel it.
“I keep saying it, man, we continue to believe. As a team, we’ve been punched and knocked down and we continue to find ways to get back up. We got punched yesterday, we got punched again today in the seventh inning, and we found a way. For Pete to come through that way, it’s a dream come true for him. What a signature moment. One swing, and here we are, moving on to the next round.”
Mendoza’s M.O. all season has been trust: Trust in the Mets’ front office, trust in his players, and trust in his decisions.
That faith trickles down so far, in fact, that it can buoy the confidence of a struggling star who had been 1-for-8 in the Wild Card Series.
“It means the world,” Alonso said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s me or somebody else. I know that everybody in that clubhouse and everybody in our organization has each other’s backs. That’s a part of the fabric. That’s why we’ve been able to bounce back and earn a playoff spot and move on to the next level…. That’s who we are as a team. That’s our identity. We have each other’s back, and we’re fully supportive. Everyone is in this together. This is a really special group”
