Mets' Pete Alonso tips helmet to Citi Field fans after prompting from home plate umpire

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso stepped up to the plate in the first inning of what could be his final home game at Citi Field and was met by a huge ovation.

“Are you going to tip you cap or something?” Alonso recalled home plate umpire John Libka telling him. “I can give you time right here.”

“Oh, yeah,” Alonso told him. “I was really happy that John reminded me.”

Alonso waved his helmet to the sellout crowd of 43,139, then tapped his helmet to his heart after the first of several standing ovations.

“It’s wild. It’s something you just really — you kind of hear about or read about or kind of see in movies,” Alonso said.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso came back out onto the field to take pictures with his family after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Alonso went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night. With a week left in the season, New York is in position for the second NL wild card and two games ahead of Atlanta for the final postseason berth.

“This what this is what our identity is,” Alonso said. “We fight and scratch for every pitch, every out. A game like today really shows the character and who we are, who the 2024 Mets are.”

Alonso is hitting .244 with 31 homers and 86 RBIs. The 29-year-old has a $20.5 million, one-year contract, can become a free agent after the World Series and is represented by Scott Boras, an agent known for testing the market.

“POLAR BEAR PLEASE STAY” and “SAVE THE POLAR BEAR” said a pair of hand-held signs, referring to Alonso’s nickname.

“That’s what makes this city such a special city,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I got goosebumps when that happened.”

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso came back out onto the field to take pictures with his wife Haley after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

A four-time All-Star who’s been a fan favorite since hitting 53 homers in 2019 and winning NL Rookie of the Year, Alonso says he’s not thinking about free agency and is concentrating on winning his first World Series title, which would be the Mets’ first since 1986.

“We got some more meat left on the bone of this,” he said. “We still have work to do and we need to finish.”