(Philadelphia) Pete Alonso and the New York Mets bring a lucky pumpkin back to the Big Apple.
This Cinderella team — which, fittingly, wears orange as its color — is hoping its carriage doesn’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight as it seeks its first World Series title since 1986.
Maybe she’ll be helped by the cucurbit the Alonsos picked from a farm in Wisconsin?
Alonso hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee Brewers No. 1 reliever Devin Williams in the ninth inning to put the Mets ahead for good in a 4-2 win in the deciding game of their first-round series, Thursday, allowing New Yorkers to access the sectional series against the Philadelphia Phillies, which will begin Saturday.
As Alonso chatted with reporters during the champagne-filled celebrations in the Mets locker room, someone gave him a small pumpkin. Alonso called it his playoff pumpkin, before explaining that he and his wife picked it on a farm outside Milwaukee last weekend.
“There’s nothing that represents fall more than a pumpkin and the baseball playoffs,” Alonso said, before placing the pumpkin on a locker room table and opening a bottle of champagne.
Who knows? When the Mets retired Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 this season, the enormous apple that pops out of a hat in the outfield to celebrate the team’s home runs was made to look like a strawberry. Maybe when the Mets return to home next week for Games 3 and 4, a playoff pumpkin will come out of that hat.
Some believe the Mets’ luck changed when McDonald’s mascot Grosse Douceur threw a ceremonial pitch in June. After this throw, the Mets won seven games in a row and began their push into the National East standings. Haliey Welch, made popular following her viral “hawk tuah” video, became a Mets fan after also throwing a ceremonial pitch there. After the Mets confirmed their participation in the series, she welcomed their entry into the month of “Hawktober”!
The Mets hope to carry that vibe with them to the World Series.
“It represents us well as an organization, as a team,” added Alonso. It is our identity. We care for each other and we are all united by the same goal. It’s a very special group. Earlier this season, few people believed we were going to be here. It’s good to see how much we’ve progressed. »