Monday night at CitiField, two things happened at once. The first involved a game in which the New York Mets lost to the Baltimore Orioles 2-1, officially eliminating them from postseason contention for the second year in a row and the fourth time in six years. The second involved an emotional tribute to a player who for seven seasons personified what it meant to be a fan of this team.
For the record, Pete Alonso was hardly the perfect ballplayer. Despite his enormous power at the plate, he was still vulnerable to pitches out of the strike zone. And while he was a fair fielder, his throws to pitchers covering first base were adventurous to say the least. But pound for pound, he was among the best players to ever wear the uniform. His 264 home runs are the most ever by a Met. There was no doubt that had he been re-signed that number would've been north of 500 by the time he retired.
But, alas, not only was he not re-signed, his agent didn't even get the courtesy of a return call by David Stearns, the man Steve Cohen hired three years ago as GM. Alonso is now an Oriole, and just like he's done every season since he made his major league debut in 2019, he is leading his team in homers and RBIs. Going into Monday's night's game, the Polar Bear's slash line was .269 / 35 / 100 / .859. He's played every game for Baltimore this season, just like he did the last two seasons in New York. Indeed, not counting the Covid year of 2020, Alonso has missed a total of 21 games during his career. Some players miss that many games in a single season.
And yet Stearns actually believed giving him a five-year contract was a bad risk. Meanwhile, Juan Soto, the man Cohen moved heaven and earth to sign to a 15 year, $765 million deal, has missed 51 games this season with a calf strain, while the guy Stearns signed to replace Alonso at first base has played a grand total of 37 games. In all, four players have started at first for the Mets this season. Collectively they've hit .236 with 18 HRs and 76 RBIs. You couldn't make this shit up if you tried.
But, I'll save my assessment of Dumb and Dumber until after this train wreck of a season is over. For now, I want to talk about what we witnessed last night at CitiField, because it was truly something rare, even for New York sports fans. In short, it was cathartic. 35,800 fans finally got the chance to get a few things off their chests, and to their credit, they didn't hold back. The "Fire Stearns" chants were louder than the "Pete Alonso" chants.
Well, apparently, some "fans" weren't thrilled with what happened. It's one thing, they said, to stand and cheer for a former player who was beloved by the fanbase; it's quite another to root for him to hit a home run against your team. They took to social media to lecture the rest of us on what it means to be a "true" fan.
I have a message for all the lecturers out there:
GO FUCK YOURSELVES!
I've been rooting for my teams since the early 1970s and I'll be damned if anyone is going to lecture me on what it means to be a true fan.
In November of 1975, the New York Rangers waived Eddie Giacomin. He was subsequently claimed by the Detroit Red Wings. Rangers fans were incensed. So much so that when Detroit came to the Garden a few days later, they not only cheered Giacomin, they actually booed the Rangers whenever they scored a goal.
In June of 1977, the Mets traded Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds. Like Rangers fans two years earlier, Mets fans were grief stricken. Two months later, the Reds came to town and Seaver was on the mound. 46,000 fans showed up at Shea Stadium to not only give him a standing ovation, but to cheer whenever he struck out a Mets player.
After the 1996-97 season, Rangers GM Neil Smith elected not to re-sign Mark Messier, the man who delivered the Cup in '94. When Messier returned as a member of the Vancouver Canucks that November and scored a goal against Mike Richter, the Garden faithful gave him a standing ovation.
Those fans were no less true than the ones who showed up at CitiField Monday night. This is New York, the city where Ed Koch used to ask, "How'm I doin'?" And people would tell him. This is the only place in America where you can be a hero on Monday and in the witness protection program on Tuesday. When we have something to say, we say it, and we don't give a rat's ass whether you like it or not. You gotta problem with that? Deal with it.
35,800 people came to the ballpark Monday night to show their love for a player they honestly feel should still be in a Mets uniform and to let those responsible for him being in an Orioles uniform know how they felt about it. It was not subtle; it wasn't meant to be.
If you're still pining for a GM who took a sledge hammer to a roster that was two wins away from its first World Series appearance since 2015, maybe you're the one that needs a lecture. And if you think 7 years, $158 million was a serious offer for a player with Alonso's abilities, you need more than a lecture; you need professional help.
Postscript: Within minutes of me posting this piece, Alonso hit a game-tying home run for the O's; his 300th in his major league career. CitiField erupted as the Polar Bear rounded the bases. Again, if you have a problem with that, fuck you and the horse you road in on.
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