Pete Alonso's return to Citi Field further emphasizes how much Orioles hurt Mets fans

It couldn't have played out any better for Pete Alonso. Sitting on 299 career home runs, the Polar Bear gets a chance to become the 191st player ever to reach 300 in the stadium he called home for eight seasons.

Alonso seemed like a player that should've been a Met for the entirety of his career. He rocketed onto the scene in 2019, breaking the single-season rookie home run record with 53 and winning NL Rookie of the Year. He made five All-Star teams in his tenure, won a Silver Slugger, and left as the Mets' all-time home run leader. He also has one of the most memorable moments in Mets postseason history.

Speaking to SNY before his return, Alonso recalled the moment in the 2024 Wild Card round where he hit the go-ahead three run blast to put New York up 3-2 in the ninth over the Brewers in game three. He talked about how it felt like that team had magic that they were going to ride for as long as they could.

The Mets wounds haven't fully healed as Pete Alonso returns to Citi Field

Mets fans had hoped Alonso would have many more moments like that one, but just one season later Alonso left in free agency after the Mets opted not to offer him a contract. While at one point, Alonso tried to bet on himself in 2023 and declined a long-term extension offer from the Mets, for them to not offer a player so ingrained in the culture of the team was disheartening to Mets fans. It probably hurts worse now after the season New York is having: 12 games under .500 and the sixth-worst team in baseball.

They made their feelings known in the series opener against the Orioles on Monday night, cheering for Alonso and audibly groaning when he missed his 300th homer by a few feet.

Even though Mets fans are actively cheering him on, it feels like this is just going to reopen the wound even more. To add a cherry on top of this sundae, Francisco Lindor is also sitting on 299 career home runs. There's an alternate reality where both Alonso and Lindor are reaching that milestone at the same time on the same team. That explains why multiple "Fire Stearns" (referring to Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns) broke out during Monday's game.

Mets fans will now watch at least the next four seasons of Alonso's career from afar as he works his way up the all-time home runs list and tries to help the O's reach the peak of baseball. The Polar Bear is already ingratiating himself to Birdland with his play on the field and his leadership off of it. He's doing everything Mets fans had hoped he would be doing in Queens for the rest of his career, and it has to hurt them to see him make his return right as they've been eliminated from the playoffs.

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