Pete Alonso’s record-breaking home run brought him — along with his family — to tears.
The Mets first baseman was shown crying while playing first base after slugging his 53 homer of the season in the third inning of the Amazin’s game against the Braves on Saturday night at Citi Field — breaking the rookie record set by the Yankees’ Aaron Judge in 2017. Alonso wasn’t the only one having trouble controlling emotions.
“He’s really passionate. He’s not moved to tears often,” Alonso’s mother, Michelle, told Fox’s Ken Rosenthal during the Mets-Braves broadcast. “He has a lot of fun, but he’s very serious about what he does. … So for him to feel that reward and be moved to tears warms my heart because I was certainly bawling in my seat at the moment at the same time. It was a family cry fest.”
Alonso’s mother and his fiancée, Haley Walsh, who were joined by Alonso’s father, Pete, admitted to indulging in some superstitions while watching the Mets slugger play, potentially helping him make history in a small way. Michelle Alonso mentioned that her dad, Pete’s grandfather, used to tell him after every game growing up to keep swinging no matter what. She carries her dad’s ashes in a locket and said she channels his energy when her son is hitting.
“When Peter’s up at bat I hold this locket tight and I pray and I talk to my dad and whenever Peter gets a base hit I hear my dad’s laughter in my head like all the days when he was sitting next to me in the Little League field,” Michelle Alonso said.
Walsh said she videotaped the historic homer, even though she doesn’t normally record Alonso’s at-bats out of superstition. She admitted she and the Mets rookie are pretty cognizant of keeping the good vibes going, saying they both are “pretty superstitious.” Alonso once shaved his beard this season to try to get out of a slump.
“We’ll do little things like, I’ll change seats throughout the game if he hasn’t gotten a hit yet or I’ll go to the bathroom sometimes,” Walsh said during the broadcast. “I don’t know. It’s just little things that’s just silly, but it works.”
Walsh said she knew the ball was gone as it came off the bat and is happy the pressure off Pete Alonso now.
“Now he can relax and enjoy the rest of the season,” she said. “I’m happy for him. It’s like a surreal feeling to see.”
