NEW YORK – It’s fitting that Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso reached a personal milestone at Citi Field on Tuesday night. He was a fan favorite at the stadium and gave them plenty of thrills. 

At 9:36 p.m. ET, Alonso gave the 28,097 fans another thrill by hitting his 300th career home run during a 7-5 victory over the Mets, a game that lasted 11 innings. 

It was the ninth inning. The Mets were up, 3-2, with closer Kodai Senga needing two more outs to pick up his eighth save of the season. But Alonso had other ideas. On a 2-0 pitch, he hit a monster home run that hit the facing of the second deck in left field to tie the score at three. The historic ball ended up landing in the first deck.

According to Elias,  Alonso became the 20th player in major league history to hit his 300th home run against his former club. Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen was the last to do it against the Pirates on April 14, 2024. 

According to MLB.com’s Sarah Lang, Alonso is one of three players (Ralph Kiner – 319 and Albert Pujols –319 are the others) in major league history to hit 300 home runs through their first eight major league seasons.

Alonso knew the ball was gone before he left the batter’s box. He started screaming and slamming his bat before sprinting to first base. 

The fans were cheering while Alonso was rounding the bases. And why not? He has hit 124 homers at the stadium. Seconds later, the hometown crowd voiced their displeasure with David Stearns, New York’s president of baseball operations, for letting Alonso walk away.

The fans asked for a curtain call, and Alonso’s teammate told him to go out of the dugout and acknowledge his supporters. 

He did just that.

“I appreciate all the support for all the years I've been here,” Alonso told reporters. “They recognize that and I appreciate that. It’s a two-way street.” 

Although Alonso made history, he wanted the media to know that it was Coby Mayo’s three-run inside the park homer in the 11th inning that won the game for Baltimore.

“How about Coby Mayo? …Again, it takes a whole village (to win this game). I’m just so proud of this group,” Alonso said. “I’m super happy about the individual stuff. No. 300 is a nice round number, but I’m so proud of this group by the way we fought today. It was an unbelievable team win.   

“... We are in a postseason push now. All these games are important coming down the road. We are playing some very important games. … We want to (play) in October. All these games count.”

Mets fan Michael Shaw and his buddies, Nick Maldarella and Chris Makarious, were the ones who grabbed the historic ball that Alonso hit. 

“It was euphoric. It was unbelievable,” Shaw said. 

For returning the ball to its proper owner, Shaw, Maldarella and Makarious received souvenir bats and balls, Alonso’s signature on their Mets jerseys and three cans of Miller Lite. Alonso was so grateful for getting the ball back that he gave each of them a hug and invited the trio to attend a game at Camden Yards. He even gave them tips on what restaurants to visit in Baltimore. 

“The moment is everything. We are here right now. We are about to see him. That’s everything right there,” Shaw said. “Star struck are the only words. We talk a lot and I’m lost for words. He is an unbelievable guy. He is just as nice as I thought it would be. Classic man.”  

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.