It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Renowned author Charles Dickens might not have known it when he wrote that iconic opening line of A Tale of Two Cities, but he was actually perfectly summing up what happened to New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and his glove during Monday night's 3-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Alonso went through a whole range of emotions, on the field and in the dugout, with his glove, taking the Mets announcers and their fans along for the emotional roller coaster ride.
First, there was disappointment.
Pete Alonso with a costly throwing error for the second straight night pic.twitter.com/YX6pMjqmhg
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 19, 2025
In the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs, Mets starter Kodai Senga, facing the Red Sox' Jarren Duran, induced a grounder to first. Alonso fielded the ball cleanly, but, knowing he had only a few seconds to get the speedy Duran, rushed and ended up flipping the ball over the head of Senga, who was racing to cover first base.
While the throwing error ultimately didn't cost the Mets a run, disappointment soon turned to anger for Alonso, who proceeded to take his frustrations out on his glove in between innings.
Pete Alonso showed frustration in the dugout after a throwing error in the 4th inning pic.twitter.com/h7i9fTdrtG
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2025
But, alas, a second chance was around the corner for Alonso. And with it came elation and relief.
Pete Alonso completes the toss over to Kodai Senga and celebrated 😂 pic.twitter.com/HGJRWKqFFa
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2025
In almost an identical play to the one where he made a throwing error in the fourth, Alonso cleanly fielded a sixth-inning grounder off the bat of Red Sox infielder David Hamilton and this time set his feet and softly threw the ball to Senga, who stepped on first base for the out.
Alonso immediately celebrated with Senga and smiled. You could almost hear a sigh of relief coming from the Polar Bear. Some frustration from Sunday night, when Alonso made a key throwing error in the eighth inning that ultimately led to the New York Yankees scoring the go-ahead runs en route to a victory, undoubtedly spilled over to Monday's game for the Mets star.
Perhaps also compounding the vexation is that Alonso, known for his power stroke, hasn't homered since May 5. But in watching the slugger in the field on Monday night, one is reminded of an inspirational phrase.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pete Alonso and His Glove Went Through Emotional Roller Coaster Ride in Mets Loss.
