Pete Alonso etched his name in New York Mets history on Tuesday night, even as his team crushed division rival Atlanta Braves 13-5.
The Mets slugger became the franchise’s all-time home run leader, surpassing Darryl Strawberry with his 253rd career homer. He didn’t stop there — Alonso added another long ball later in the game, giving him 28 home runs this season and 254 for his career.
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While Alonso’s accomplishment cements him as one of the best hitters in Mets history, ESPN’s “Mad Dog” Chris Russo wasn’t buying the hype.
“I cannot believe the big deal people are making about Pete Alonso being the franchise record-holder now for home runs,” Russo said. “Nobody in Met-Ville, and I know a lot of Met fans, after a stretch of losing 11-of-12 and having allowed the Phillies to bury them in the NL East. Now we’re going to make a big deal of Alonso’s home runs?”
The Phillies currently hold a five-game lead over the second-place Mets. New York has stumbled badly, going 2-8 in August and 9-13 since the All-Star break.
Russo even took aim at Mets announcer Gary Cohen’s call of Alonso’s milestone blast.
“You can’t even tell me what the home run record was before this nonsense. This is ridiculous,” Russo ranted.
“And by the way, if the Mets love Alonso so much, why didn’t they pay him in the offseason for crying out loud? He was a free agent, they didn’t want to pay him a nickel and they bounced around all over the place until basically he came back with his hat out, ‘Please sign me.’”
Alonso, 30, and the Mets eventually agreed to a two-year, $54 million extension, though next season includes a player option, per Spotrac.
Russo continued his tirade, reminding fans that the Mets aren’t exactly the Yankees when it comes to home run royalty.
“Two hundred and fifty-four homers!? That number is ridiculously low,” Russo said.
It was vintage Russo — a fiery rant that Mets fans will either love or hate. Still, as rough as this season has been, Alonso’s milestone might be the most they’ve had to cheer about in weeks.