FLUSHING, NY — Last month from August 18-20, Pete Alonso met some of the New York media at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. The Yankees were in town for a three-game series.
The fan favorite and former Mets home run slugger who bolted for free agency was asked about that inevitable meeting and return to Citi Field.
“Obviously, it’s kind of not at the top of the priority list right now because again I just want to focus on today and every single team who we’re playing across,” he said. “That’s the focus.”
Making his return to Queens this week, Pete Alonso had been asked the same questions for weeks and even months leading up to O’s-Mets in Queens – Image Credit: Alan Bautista/Latino Sports
He has been everything the Orioles expected when they signed him to a five-year/$155 million contract last December. The Mets made their choice with Alonso, who was not in their plans for the future. And Mets fans never will forgive president of baseball operations David Stearns for allowing him to walk.
The 31-year-old first baseman, a five-time All-Star, has been focused on the O’s since inking that contract as Baltimore still has life for an American League Wild Card spot—74-78, three games back from Cleveland for the third and final spot. Monday and Tuesday night at Citi Field, with The Polar Bear and Orioles in Queens, the Mets appeared to be the visiting team.
Every walk to the batter’s box and play at first base and Alonso was cheered on with standing ovations.
Pete Alonso is happy in Baltimore as an Oriole and grateful for all the love he receives by Mets fans with this week resulting as an experience he’ll always remember – Image Credit: Miguel Maldonado/Latino Sports
Stearns continued to receive boos while chants of “Fire Stearns” were conspicuous. Team owner Steve Cohen at the ballpark had to hear the fans’ displeasure. Alonso, the most popular Met in franchise history with Seaver, Piazza, Gooden, Strawberry, and deGrom, was back home and they were hoping the owner heard and saw it all.
With that going on, Alonso though continued his business on the field. He always had a calm composure in New York, yet this is a lovefest with fans that’s continued on at Citi Field.
The fans welcome him home, Alonso tips his helmet, cap, and waves to the crowd.
Pete Alonso and Steve Cohen catching up prior to the Orioles and Mets opening up a three game series at Citi Field this past Monday night – Image Credit: Miguel Maldonado/Latino Sports
And yes, the Mets continue to play out their losing season too as Alonso gets more cheers than the home team, unusual and quite different from the days when Seaver and others departed Shea Stadium and returned for a brief series.
And it has been a past few nights of storylines because of it, Alonso returning to his old stomping grounds, one home run shy of a career milestone 300 home runs, with his former teammate Francisco Lindor one away as well. The two key players in the Mets’ 2024 postseason run to the NLCS, each one shy of the 300 HR career milestone.
As teammates together in Queens from 2021-2025, Francisco Lindor (141) and Pete Alonso (195) combined to hit 336 home runs. As of now, Alonso sits with the most HRs all time by a Met with 264 while Lindor is at sixth with 161 – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The inevitable happened Tuesday evening, Mets fans gave Alonso a resounding standing ovation when he became the 19th active MLB player to reach 300 career blasts.
And it was a mammoth game-tying ninth inning Alonso home run to left center off RHP Kodai Senga.
PETE ALONSO’S 300TH CAREER HOME RUN COMES AT CITI FIELD! pic.twitter.com/yqJJLdnQ8D
— MLB (@MLB) September 16, 2026
The fans would not stop cheering “PETE, PETE, PETE,” until Alonso acknowledged their curtain call.
They would not witness in person another Mets loss, 7-5 in 11 innings, because they left for the exits.
They came to see Alonso and hoped Cohen and Stearns watched the exodus.
Pete Alonso received a curtain call from the Citi Field crowd 👏 pic.twitter.com/koK88H71XH
— MLB (@MLB) September 16, 2026
Many fans say allowing Alonso to walk was the worst move in Mets franchise history, perhaps it was more tragic than the others who walked away under the previous Wilpon owned Mets. Regardless, Alonso could have achieved this milestone in a Mets uniform since the business of baseball would not allow that.
The Mets should have given him that five-year/$155 million deal. Perhaps those boos directed at the Mets hierarchy would have been cheers in September had Alonso re-signed and remained a career and homegrown Met.
The love for Pete Alonso in Queens all started in 2019 and grew year by year for Mets fans with The Polar Bear becoming his popular nickname – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“It just shows how much he was loved, it just shows how great of a hitter he is and how much he meant to this organization,” Senga commented through an interpreter after being asked about fans cheering for Alonso and the milestone home run.
And Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea said, “I love him (Alonso) to death, but as the 2026 Mets—I know we’ve definitely underperformed—the guys in here work their *ss off every single day. To have that reaction to an opposing player is crazy to me.”
As crazy as it was for Alonso and others, 28,097 in the building, the home run went in the record books. It was his 36th homer of 2026 (ninth in MLB) to pair with 101 RBI (fourth in MLB)—production that exceeds numbers that exist in the Mets lineup.
With fans calling for The Polar Bear and many standing ovations taking place, Pete Alonso’s first two games back at Citi Field as an Oriole has given the O’s what seems as if a home field advantage at times – Image Credit: Miguel Maldonado/Latino Sports
“I appreciate all the support, especially for all the years I was here,” Alonso said. “All the life I’ve loved here. It’s a two-way street. Number 300, it’s a nice round number. But I’m just so proud of this group. The way we fought today, it’s an unbelievable team win.”
That’s Alonso, seven years at Citi Field and it was always about his team and not about his production and persistence to play an entire 162-game season. Mets fans loved that, they still do.
Seven years at Citi Field for Pete Alonso as a Met and after signing with the O’s this past offseason, Mets fans still view him as theirs – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Only Ralph Kiner (329) and Albert Pujols (319) have slugged more home runs than Alonso in their first eight MLB seasons.
And the milestone home run ball was retrieved when Alonso greeted three fans from Levittown, NY outside the visitors clubhouse late Tuesday night. Two had on Alonso’s Mets jerseys with the other donning a No. 21 Carlos Delgado Mets one from back in the day.
The right choice on Roberto Clemente Day.
They gave him the ball.
The three Mets fans, Mike, Nick, and Chris, each from Levittown, New York, are big supporters of The Polar Bear from the very beginning of his rookie season in 2019.
In exchange for the home run ball, Alonso signed a ton of baseballs, bats, their jerseys and even gave them… https://t.co/p6P7galKg1 pic.twitter.com/b1SdeI1gVm
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) September 16, 2026
In return were smiles, signed bats, balls, their Alonso and Delgado jerseys signed, and three cans of beer to celebrate. Also an invitation to be his special guests at a future Orioles game in Baltimore.
“Thank you guys. Thank you,” Alonso repeated more than once to the trio of loyal and grateful fans, insisting on whatever autograph inscription and detail they’d like on the baseballs, bats, and jerseys, they’d get.
“Do you want me to write (more) anything on it, like inscribe it in any sort of way? I can write whatever you want.”
Then again, Alonso to them and tons of others will always be a New York Met.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X:@Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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