In what might possibly have been his final* game as a Met at Citi Field, Pete Alonso fittingly made sure fans received another terrific memory of the beloved Polar Bear — a tone-setting, season-saving bomb of a home run.
(*While there’s obviously still a chance his return to Queens will be in an enemy uniform, Alonso could extend his Mets tenure if 1) he re-signs here on a long-term, megabucks deal, or 2) the Mets keep defying the experts and beating the odds by winning two more games in LA and bringing World Series games home next week.)
That second possibility — all he’s thinking about now — still may not seem overwhelmingly likely yet. But this Mets team — which sent the National League Championship Series back to Los Angeles with a 12-6 Game 5 victory — should never be written off. If there’s anything we’ve learned over 174 games, it’s that.
Whatever happens in LA, this is a special Mets season.
Whatever happens in Games 6 and 7, this is a special Mets team.
Long ago expected to play out the year as an also-ran, they keep resuscitating themselves. Occasionally on life support this October, they head to California very much alive.
These Mets are as tough as they are clutch. But the task still appears monumental, what with Dodgers superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts remaining on a roll (between them, those LA megastars reached base six more times in Game 5).
“If anyone can do it … we can do it,” Brandon Nimmo said.
This isn’t the most talented team in the National League (that is almost certainly their NLCS opponent). But it’s hard to imagine a squad with a bigger heart, more guts and greater belief in the unrealistic, and even the unbelievable.
The Mets still need more magic, of course, and two more miracles. They head to Dodger Stadium needing to sweep a team ticketed to win 111 games by some. The chances would still seem less than great, but the players continue to defy the analysts.
“You look at the path, and it’s pretty unexplainable,” Alonso said. “The group is so special. We’ve faced adversity and bounced back time and time again.”
They surprised us all by even making it into the October derby after starting 0-5, then falling to 22-33 and truly looking like the sorry 2023 squad. Then over the final 100 games, they outplayed almost everyone.
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And now in the playoffs, they’ve pulled one surprise after another. They won in Milwaukee, a great place by a Great Lake that they loathe. Then they easily beat Philly, who finished well ahead of them in the NL East.
They continue to play their best when things look worst.
Having been outscored 27-2 in their three NLCS defeats (18-2 the first two games here), Alonso helped make sure the Mets made it two and oh in elimination games. He set the tone for the slugfest win by homering 432 feet to center in the first inning on a pitch off his shoe tops.
“Pete hits the ball off the ground to The Apple — that was pretty sick,” Jesse Winker said.
Between that three-run dinger off Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, and the one that made him infamous in Milwaukee and originally saved the Mets season — no one saw that homer off Brewers star closer Devin Williams coming, certainly not folks out there who were readying the champagne — his rather mundane regular season is forgotten. You have to figure Mets owner Steve Cohen will try hard to keep Pete here now (but free agency is about as predictable as this Mets season).
These Mets don’t much mind playing from behind. But Alonso’s early homer finally gave the Queens crowd something to cheer following two dreadful debacles that put the Dodgers in a commanding spot.
Despite the Mets wonderful run, Dodgers people were surely feeling pretty solid about their team with three of the best players on this planet, many of the most versatile guys, a pitching staff that already tied a postseason record for consecutive scoreless innings and the one bullpen going that hasn’t blown up once this October.
But these Mets are something else. The numbers mean nothing to them. The analytics are to be ignored.
The offense that’s been off and on kept pouring it on in their best offensive display of the month. They were on all night, and miraculously didn’t strike out a single time. Everyone chipped in on offense except Mark Vientos, who’s done enough.
Mets fans chanted “PETE A-LON-SO,” as he batted in the eighth — possibly his final time up here as a home player, and he responded with another hit. Alonso appreciated the moment but focused solely on the team.
“It’s storybook type stuff. [But] you can’t get wrapped up in that,” he said.
The fans kept chanting. Until the end, the house was rocking for a team that deserves it.
