Pete Alonso tipped his helmet to the crowd before his first at-bat Sunday night in what could be his final game at Citi Field as a Met.
It followed a partial standing ovation from the sellout crowd in Queens, with the fans chanting the first baseman’s name as he got to the plate in the bottom of the first.
Despite the display in the Mets’ last home game of the regular season with his free agency approaching, Alonso said he had a similar mentality as Carlos Mendoza: He’s not looking at Sunday’s game against the Phillies as anything final in Queens.
The Mets entered the series finale 1 ½ games ahead of the Braves for the final NL wild card with what Alonso called “a great opportunity” to get back to Citi Field in the postseason.
Asked about Sunday potentially being his final game at Citi Field, Alonso said beforehand, “In my mind, it isn’t.”
Heading into the last week of the regular season, the Mets have three games beginning Tuesday in Atlanta before another three-game series in Milwaukee.
Then they hope to have a wild card series.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity that we worked so hard for this year,’’ Alonso said. “Today is not about me. This about us and who we are. This is about the 2024 Mets. From where we’ve come as a group, we’ve come so far. We just need to finish.”
It’s something they didn’t do in 2022, when a three-game sweep at the hands of the Braves in Atlanta in the middle of September helped cost the Mets a division title.
Alonso is confident they will close strong on the road this time around to secure a wild card.
“We’ve done a really good job this series [against the Phillies] of playing quality baseball so far,” the first baseman said. “We just need to take it day by day. We’ve really built ourselves a wonderful opportunity. It’s an honor to play with this team. It’s sick putting on the orange and blue every day. I love it.”
Following Monday’s off day, the Mets will see how the 2024 season will end up.
“I’m excited,” Alonso said. “We’re playing meaningful baseball. This is what we prepared for all year and now it’s here. Now we’ve got to go do it.”
Since the end of May, the Mets still have the best record in the majors, which also has Alonso and the Mets feeling good with a week left.
“We’ve played excellent baseball for a really long time now,” Alonso said. “And I think people are gonna think of the 2024 Mets with ‘Oh my God’ or Grimace, but the one word that for me comes to mind is ‘resilient.’ We’ve earned the right to be in this position and to be a part of this group has been really, really special.”
Over his previous nine games heading into Sunday, Alonso was 12-for-33 with three homers, a double and a 1.142 OPS.
The Mets won six of those games, helping them gain a lead over Atlanta in the battle for the postseason.
Perhaps that’s why Alonso wasn’t interested in looking too far ahead — or to the past about his history with the Mets — with so much on the line over the next week.
“Every game matters,’’ Alonso said. “If we can just stay locked in [Sunday] and then worry about Tuesday when Tuesday comes.”
