NEW YORK -- The moment for Pete Alonso’s 300th career home run couldn’t have been much better.
After playing as a visitor at Citi Field for the first time on Monday night, Alonso reached the milestone during the ninth inning of Tuesday’s Orioles-Mets matchup, blasting a game-tying solo homer off New York right-hander Kodai Senga. It was the 36th home run of the 31-year-old first baseman’s first season with Baltimore, which signed him to a five-year, $155 million deal last December.
The majority of Alonso’s home runs came during a seven-year run with the Mets to begin his MLB career. In fact, he became the franchise’s all-time homer leader during that time, belting 264 over 1,008 games.
The Citi Field crowd greeted Alonso with an incredibly warm reception upon his return on Monday. His name was chanted after the national anthem, then again when he took the field for warmups.
A tribute video was played prior to first pitch, as Alonso tipped his cap to the fans and returned the appreciation. He did so again in the top of the first inning, when he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat amid loud cheers and chants.
But it felt like only a matter of time before Alonso went deep this week. After all, how perfect would that be for the Polar Bear to meet the moment of his return to his former home?
Alonso’s 300th career home run was his 124th at Citi Field, but the first of those to not come while wearing a Mets uniform -- though you couldn’t tell by the reaction from the crowd that he was an opposing player. Much like the events earlier on Monday and Tuesday, Alonso received overwhelming cheers as he rounded the bases and came home.
Not only that, but the fans at Citi Field got Alonso to come out of the third-base dugout for a curtain call following the milestone homer.
“Honestly, I’m very gracious and appreciative of all the years of support. It’s really special to have that,” Alonso said on Monday. “I know that I’ve been an Oriole almost a complete year, and still to have that support, it really means a lot. It’s always much appreciated.”
Alonso became the 19th active player to reach 300 home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he was the 20th player in AL/NL history to hit his 300th homer against his former club, a feat that had most recently been accomplished by Andrew McCutchen, whose 300th homer came for the Pirates against the Phillies on April 14, 2024.