The Mets’ Pete Alonso delivers a heroic home run after his teammate led off

MILWAUKEE — Amid the chaos of excitement, the New York Mets let the star of Thursday night’s celebration get away for a moment.

Someone quickly shouted, “Where the hell is Pete?”

The search only lasted a few moments.

“He’s over there!” someone else shouted.

Another Mets player then loudly ordered, “Everyone attack Pete!”

Within seconds, several Mets players took turns emptying their champagne bottles over Pete Alonso.

Soon, a soaked Alonso, holding a can of beer in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, wrapped his arms around Jose Iglesias and hugged him tightly.

In the embrace, Iglesias told him, “Thank you for listening.”

Near the bottom of the eighth inning, Iglesias said to Alonso from his position at second base, “You’re going to hit a home run in the next inning.”

What happened next is already ingrained in Mets lore. In the ninth inning of the deciding Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, the Mets trailed by two runs. With one dropout, they had runners in first and third place. Alonso endured a week-long crisis with composure and stepped up to the plate. He hit a three-run home run off Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams, saving the Mets’ season and sending New York to the Division Series.

Pete Alonso struggled early, but before that three-run home run, he told his hitting coach, “I feel like I’m right there.” (Benny Sieu / Imagn Images)

“It was meant to be,” Iglesias said after the 4-2 win. “I’ve seen walk-offs and stuff, but this is one of my happiest moments. It’s a dream come true.”

Throughout the day, Iglesias, a leader in the Mets’ clubhouse whose catchy song “OMG” became a season’s rallying cry, had encouraged Alonso.

“He felt a little uncomfortable,” Iglesias said. “I just told him, ‘Be on time. “Timing is everything.” And now? Man, I’m so proud of him.”

Later, in a rare on-field moment in which he didn’t draw a crowd, Alonso said Iglesias’ simple but consistent message “meant a lot.” Really, a lot. It meant so much to me.”

For a while, the Mets needed Alonso to come through. Big time. His year of travel had been without any special moments. But club officials always said the same thing, that he could change a game in an instant with his strength. Still, his last extra-base hit was on September 19th. Before the home run, Alonso was 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the seventh inning. Doesn’t matter. He still believed.

In the seventh inning, Alonso used a relaxed tone when he told Mets assistant hitting coach Eric Chavez, “I’m swinging through these pitches right now.” I feel like I’m right there. One swing away.”

Recalling the conversation, Chavez said, “He was calmer than me.”

Players often tell coaches things like this, so Chavez wasn’t sure how to interpret the message. However, he noticed at least one thing that he later said would be important. Alonso remained positive despite the slump and the severity of his Mets career, which may have ended Thursday night.

After a 3-1 bid from Williams, Alonso sent a changeup that took too much plate 367 feet over the right-field wall. He said he knew right away it was a home run. At first base, Brandon Nimmo said he wasn’t entirely sure. After all, the Mets hadn’t hit a home run in the first two games of the series. So Nimmo said he was just hoping the ball would go over an outfielder’s head. But Alonso continued to run towards Nimmo. So Nimmo looked at the outfield again and said to himself, “Oh my God.”

By the time Alonso reached second base, nearly every Mets player had left the dugout.

“Words can’t explain it,” Alonso said. “This is unreal.”

Mets owner Steve Cohen tried to form a few sentences.

“Great players, they come through in the final stages, right?” Cohen said. “Just an incredible moment for him, for the team.”

The Mets had come far without Alonso nipping at their heels. When he’s hot, the Mets are even more dangerous heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Before the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza once again placed his faith in Alonso, saying, “We’re waiting for that one hit. Hopefully today is the day.”

The wait was worth it.

“Proud of him,” Mendoza said after the game. “It was a dream come true for him and for all of us.”

Seven minutes after the Mets advanced and the team celebrated on the field, fans behind New York’s dugout at American Family Field began loudly chanting: “Pete A-lon-so! Pete A-lon-so!”

It would be the first of further songs for the hero of the evening.

(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Photo credit: Benny Sieu / Imagn Images)