NEW YORK _ As Pete Alonso stepped to the plate for his first at-bat, the SNY broadcast, of course, flashed back to his previous performance. A night ago, Alonso left with the first four-strikeout game of his young career.
"Clearly trying to hit home runs right now," play-by-play man Gary Cohen said, "and maybe over-swinging a tad."
"Yeah, he looked as bad as he's looked all year," Keith Hernandez added.
Crack.
Right then, Alonso hammered a missile off Dallas Keuchel that hit above the left-field fence. The Mets aren't playing for anything meaningful as a team, but this was important and drew the proper roar from the Citi Field crowd.
Alonso had tied Aaron Judge's rookie home run record with his 52nd bomb of the season.
As he reached second base on his home run trot, Alonso pointed both of his index fingers to the sky. He bobbed his head and flashed a huge smile the entire way.
He crossed home plate, then turned to the crowd and clapped. He high-fived J.D. Davis before embracing Robinson Cano, Amed Rosario and Todd Frazier, one by one, outside the dugout. Manager Mickey Callaway congratulated Alonso when he reached the dugout steps, then his teammates each took turns greeting the rookie superstar.
While the Mets celebrated Alonso in the dugout, a hum crept into the broadcast.
"Pete Alonso!"
"Pete Alonso!"
"Pete Alonso!"
Soon, Alonso emerged from the dugout for the curtain call. Fans paid their respects, the ballpark still buzzing after the historic moment.
The Mets trailed by a run after the first-inning bomb, but defeated the Braves, 4-2. The team is no longer playing meaningful baseball, and the final score does not matter. What would mean something, however, is if a Met stood alone in the record books. Alonso still has two days _ approximately eight at-bats _ to hit another homer.
This season, the 24-year-old Alonso has captivated the baseball world. He's loved by many _ well, except Yankees fans, who desperately hoped Judge would hold the record forever.
Each day, it seems like Alonso is the first to do this, or only one of X amount of players to do that. He is sure to win National League Rookie of the Year. He's accomplished so much this season that it almost makes you forget about him being an All-Star and winning the Home Run Derby, which seems so long ago.
In a season, he's become a face of the franchise and a leader in the clubhouse. Days ago, Callaway said Alonso was the next David Wright for the organization, and it may not be much of an exaggeration.
After Alonso homered, the game continued. Davis, who later homered, went to bat after the record-tying blast.
As the cameras panned back to the dugout, where Alonso was settling down, the broadcasters joked about how they were just talking about Alonso's golden sombrero.
"I was rudely interrupted by that swing," Hernandez quipped.
