Add The New York Post on Google In his 11 years in the big leagues, Sean Manaea has never experienced a scene like the one that unfolded at Citi Field on Tuesday night.
The home team, in this case Manaea’s Mets, nursed a one-run lead in the ninth.
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An opponent, ex-Met fan favorite and current Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso, tied the game with a solo home run, in this case the 300th of his career.
And the home faithful cheered as if Alonso still donned the blue and orange, seemingly not caring one bit about what that hit meant for their favorite team.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for him, I love him to death, but as a team, as the 2026 Mets, I know we have definitely underperformed. But the guys in here work their ass off every single day. To have that kind of reaction to an opposing player — it could be anybody — is crazy to me,” Manaea said after the Mets’ 7-5 loss in 11 innings. “I’ve got nothing but respect for Pete, but I’ve never seen anything like that before. I know the guys in here, we are grinding our butts off and stuff like that happens. I’ve never seen anything like that, kinda crazy.”
Former fan favorites usually receive warm welcomes when they return to their former locale but Alonso’s return has deviated quite far from the norm.
Mets fans have cheered Alonso wildly like he’s the only thing that mattered, home team be damned.
View this post on Instagram Perhaps some of it is pent-up frustration that the Mets did not retain him, although they did make offers he rejected over the years.
Some of the emotions certainly tie to the team missing the playoffs in back-to-back years despite lofty ambitions and huge payrolls, and there are certainly those who are letting out their frustration with beleaguered president of baseball operations David Stearns after his attempt to replace Alonso with Jorge Polanco completely backfired.
It’s created — as Manaea said — a “crazy” environment at Citi Field that will conclude Wednesday night in the series finale.
In Monday’s 2-1 loss, Mets fans booed when young starter Jonah Tong walked Alonso in the third inning.
Plenty of patrons also headed for the exits after Alonso’s final at-bat in the eighth inning — despite it being a one-run game.
On Tuesday, the crowd roared — and we do mean roared — when Kodai Senga hung an 82-mph forkball and Alonso absolutely crushed it into the left-field stands to tie the game at 3-3.
The long ball marked the 124th of Alonso’s at Citi Field, and even one broadcaster noted how “that’s what the fans came to see.”
Fans chanted “Pete Alonso” and he even received a curtain call, which, ya know, is usually reserved for when the home stars perform something magical.
Those chants later turned into rounds of “Fire Stearns.”
“Pete’s not here,” said Manaea, who exited with with a lead after throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball but ultimately received a no-decision thanks to Alonso. “The powers that be — whatever that may be — he’s just not here. I know everybody loves him. He’s the man. But he’s not here.
“To see the reaction from the fans like that, I don’t know — it’s just different.”
Alonso appreciated the positive reaction he received from Mets fans while achieving the personal milestone.
“Everyone in the dugout was saying, ‘Go out there,’ and they were right,” Alonso said of his curtain call.
“I appreciate all the support. Especially all the years I’ve been here, all the life I’ve lived here. Obviously appreciate that, and it’s a two-way street.”
While Manaea made it clear that the fan reaction is a bit bothersome, he stressed that in no way did his views on the subject reflect on the Polar Bear himself.
“I played with Pete for a couple of years. I know how much he means to this organization, to this city. He’s an exceptional player and I love him as a player, as a teammate, he’s one of the greats,” Manaea said.
“And unfortunately he’s not on the Mets anymore and congrats to him, 300 home runs, super happy for him. It’s just crazy how things kinda unfolded.
