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Inside The Mets

Mets Fans' Love for Pete Alonso on Monday Was a Bit Over the Top

New York Mets fans at Citi Field showed their love for Pete Alonso in his return to Flushing as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. That love seemed a bit much given the circumstances.
Mike Phillips|
Pete Alonso received a lot of love from New York Mets fans in his return to Citi Field on Monday night.
Pete Alonso received a lot of love from New York Mets fans in his return to Citi Field on Monday night. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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New York Mets

One of the big headlines for the New York Mets this week surrounded the return of Pete Alonso to Flushing for the first time since his offseason departure to Baltimore. The decision to let Alonso walk was not popular with fans, especially since David Stearns' replacement plan for the Polar Bear was frankly terrible, making his return as a visitor an intriguing inflection point for fan sentiment towards the franchise.

The Mets, as they've done for former players since Steve Cohen took over as the primary owner, put together a thoughtful tribute video for Alonso and played it before the game. Alonso was clearly touched by the moment and acknowledged the fans with a tip of his cap. This led to a series of loud cheers prior to the game.

The love continued in Alonso's first at-bat, where he received another standing ovation from Mets fans who chanted his name throughout his plate appearance. That level of support felt appropriate given what Alonso, the franchise's current all-time home run leader, delivered to the Mets, but the attention never stopped.

After Alonso flew out to right field, fans started chanting for the Mets to fire David Stearns, voicing their frustration towards the front office for how the situation played out. The fans continued to cheer Alonso throughout the night, nearly erupting when he launched his 300th home run on a towering fly ball before booing starter Jonah Tong for walking him.

Alonso's final at-bat came in the eighth inning, when he struck out swinging against reliever Dedniel Nunez. That plate appearance marked the end of the night for many Mets fans, who streamed for the exits even though the game was tied 1-1 at that point (h/t Foul Territory on Twitter).

Why Mets fans love affair for Pete Alonso was way too over the top

There is no question that Mets fans have a right to feel frustrated that Alonso, a popular homegrown player, departed in free agency without a new offer from the Mets. Giving him a tribute video was the right decision by the franchise, and seeing the fans get a chance to say goodbye to Alonso was a nice moment, but the endless ovations and derision of the current team felt absurd and over the top.

Alonso was given the same kind of love that former Mets icons Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver got in their returns to Queens, despite accomplishing far less for the franchise than either Hall of Famer did. The circumstances of their departures were also quite different, as Seaver was controversially traded away, while Piazza was allowed to leave towards the end of his career.

The Mets made multiple attempts to secure Alonso's services for the long haul, with former GM Billy Eppler offering him a seven-year deal worth $153 million that Alonso rejected during the 2023 season.

Alonso then switched agents, joining Scott Boras, seeking a long-term commitment to maximize his market value, and returned to the Mets on a two-year deal after the rest of the league showed little interest in him following a down 2024 season.

It is to Alonso's credit that he maximized a platform year in 2025, but he demonstrated little tact by announcing his decision to opt out of his contract mere minutes after the Mets' final loss of the 2025 season, which culminated in one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

No one can blame Alonso for wanting to maximize his potential earnings, which is his right as a free agent. But the narrative that the Mets horribly wronged Alonso last winter is misguided.

Fans also seem to love Alonso's personality, which is a bit goofy, as he came up with the LFGM mantra during the 2019 season and stated on multiple occasions that he wanted to be a Met for life. It is interesting that none of those fans seem to question why Alonso's camp didn't bring the Orioles' offer back to the Mets to give them a chance to match it, which followed a similar playbook to how Jacob deGrom's opt-out proceedings went after the 2022 season.

Showing love to a former player is fine, but the fans at last night's game crossed a line when they decided to boo Tong, who could be an important part of the Mets' future, because he dared to walk Alonso instead of throwing him a meatball for his 300th career home run.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor addressed the situation after the game, telling the media that he felt Alonso deserved all the love he got, but would like to see fans support a player like Tong, especially since the team was still trying to win a game.

This stubborn refusal to let go of the past is ironic for Mets fans, who have criticized Yankees fans who are upset that Juan Soto switched zip codes after just one season in the Bronx. Not all Mets fans fall into this bucket, but it sure felt like the crowd at Citi Field on Monday night was only interested in supporting Alonso, not the team they actually root for, which feels like a bridge too far.

Baseball is a business, and it is unfortunate that the two sides couldn't find a way to stay together. Both Alonso and the Mets appear to have moved past this with mutual respect, so it is time for the fan base to let bygones be bygones.

The narrative that the fans were sticking it to the front office by showing up to cheer for Alonso is also silly since last night's huge crowd added a ton of revenue from ticket sales, concessions, and parking to Cohen's coffers. The display at Citi Field last night felt like that of a jilted lover when it is truly okay to accept that things did not work out and hope for the best for all parties involved.

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Mike Phillips
MIKE PHILLIPS

Mike Phillips is a contributor to the Mets On SI site. Mike has been covering the Mets since 2011 for various websites, including Metstradamus and Kiners Korner. Mike has a Masters Degree from Iona University in Sports Communications and Media and also has experience covering the NFL and college basketball on FanSided. Mike also hosts his own New York sports based podcast. You can follow Mike on Twitter/X and Instagram: @MPhillips331.

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