After weeks of futility, the Mets are back, baby. New York got rained out on Saturday, which has put a pause on the club’s three-game winning streak to get back to .500 at 23-23. The trio of rookies (Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos) have all contributed, but so has the Mets’ best power hitter: Pete Alonso.
The Polar Bear has hit a home run in four straight games. This includes a dramatic three-run walk-off tater on Wednesday night, as well as a game-tying grand slam on Friday night.
But as the Mets mounted their second 10th-inning comeback in three days, Alonso could only watch since his spot in the lineup wasn’t called upon. He kept himself busy at the top step of the dugout during the rally, much to the delight of Justin Verlander:
I’m once again asking for this man to become a lifetime Met, immediately. #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/l3wlTd32hl
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) May 20, 2023
What exactly was he doing here? That’s anyone’s guess at this point, but it looks quite obvious. Alonso clearly looked at JV in the midst of it all. Since he saw him cracking up, he took it up a notch.
As you might’ve imagined from our headline, this was not an isolated incident. @OneShiningMets on Twitter created a thread of Alonso doing what is apparently his patented hip thrust at various times on the field.
Check it out, if you dare:
— One Shining Mets ⭐️ (@oneshiningmets) May 20, 2023
— One Shining Mets ⭐️ (@oneshiningmets) May 20, 2023
Gotta love the last one where he gives a double thrust. He must’ve been feeling extra spicy that day. This is clearly Pete’s thing now. I’d love to know the backstory. My guess is he did it once as a joke and after getting lots of laughs, he just can’t stop.
This is also the exact kind of thing that will be received in two different ways. It will endear him to the Mets fanbase that much more, along with making fans of other teams despise him even more. And you know what, that’s fine. We don’t want Pete going anywhere else anyways. In a perfect world, I would’ve liked to have seen him sign a contract extension prior to Opening Day. But either way, it’s coming, and the man is going to get a truckload of cash thanks to his importance to the Mets.
Alonso is a great baseball player and a tremendous power hitter. When he’s in the box, that’s clearly one of the places in this world where he’s most comfortable. But outside of the batter’s box? Well, he’s just an awkward goober.
It’s not like he can deny it. Pete is more than happy to confess that to anyone who will listen.
"Oh we're goobers, I love it" ?
Jeff McNeil & Pete Alonso's World Baseball Classic photoshoot was gold ??
(via TikTok/MLB) pic.twitter.com/XBpwTJwL7B
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 8, 2023
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
