At the end of the second night of waiting, many of the 28,097 who’d stuck around finally got what they wanted. They saw Pete Alonso feast on a Kodai Senga forkball that settled neatly into the lower half of the strike zone. The Mets were leading by a run, 3-2, one out in the ninth. 

And then they weren’t. 

Then, the partisans heard that familiar sound — thwock!! — that they’d heard Alonso make at Citi Field 123 previous times across the first 299 home runs of his career. Alonso sure knew what he’d done. He tossed the bat away triumphantly and took this 360-foot tour of the bases for the 300th time. 

And a few minutes after, coup de grâce, he took a curtain call, helmet off, hand in the air. It’s hard to remember that ever happening anywhere before, let alone in New York. The people greeted that with delight.