Mets’ Pete Alonso delivers a heroic homer after his teammate hits a shot

MILWAUKEE — In a chaos of jubilation, the New York Mets let their star celebration escape Thursday night.

Quickly, someone shouted: “Where is Pete?”

The search lasted only moments.

“He’s there!” someone else shouted.

Then another Mets player gave loud instructions: “Everyone attack Pete!”

Within seconds, several Mets players took turns draining their champagne bottles on Pete Alonso. “house! house! house!” She cheered.

Alonso enjoyed the moment. With one hand holding a can of beer and the other holding a bottle of champagne, he wrapped his arms around Jose Iglesias and embraced him in a bear hug.

In his embrace, Iglesias told Alonso: “Thank you for listening.”

The second baseman was referring to the message he delivered just before the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s when Iglesias, from his position at second base, told Alonso, “Next inning, you’re going to hit a home run.”

What happened next is already etched in Mets lore. In the ninth inning of the deciding Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, the Mets trailed by two runs. With one out, they had runners on first and third. After weeks of quietly stagnating, Alonso has stepped up to the plate. He hit a three-run home run off Milwaukee Brewers’ Devin Williams to save the Mets’ season and send New York to the Division Series.

“It was meant to be this way,” Iglesias said after the 4-2 win. “I’ve seen withdrawals and things like that, but this is one of my happiest moments. It’s a dream come true.”

Throughout the day, Iglesias, one of the Mets’ clubhouse leaders whose catchy song “OMG” has become this season’s rallying cry, cheered on Alonso.

“He was feeling some relief,” Iglesias said. I just told him: Be on time. Timing is everything. And now? Man, I feel so proud of him.”

Later, in a rare moment on the pitch when he wasn’t drawing a crowd, Alonso said Iglesias’ simple, consistent message, “meant a lot. Really, a lot. He meant a lot to me.”

For some time, the Mets have needed Alonso to come along. Great time. The year of his career was devoid of special moments. But the club officials always said the same thing, that with his strength he could change the game in an instant. However, his last extra-base hit was on September 19. Before the home run, Alonso was 0-for-3 with a hit in the seventh inning. It doesn’t matter. He still believed.

In the seventh inning, Alonso struck a comforting tone when he told Mets co-hitting coach Eric Chavez, “I’m swinging right across these pitches. I feel like I’m right there. One swing away.”

“He was calmer than me,” Chavez said, recalling the conversation.

Players often tell coaches such things, so Chavez didn’t know exactly how to interpret the message. However, he did notice at least one thing, which he later said would be important. Alonso, despite the stagnation and heaviness of his Mets career that will likely end Thursday night, has remained positive.

On Williams’ 3-1 pitch, Alonso sent a changeup that got a very large, 367-foot home run over the wall in right field. He said he knew immediately it was a ride home. At first base, Brandon Nimmo said he wasn’t quite sure. After all, the Mets were winless at home in the first two games of the Series. Therefore, Nimmo said he was simply hoping the ball would go past the outfielder’s head. But Alonso kept running towards Nemo. So Nemo looked at the field again and said to himself: “Oh my God.”

By the time Alonso reached second base, nearly all of the Mets players had left the dugout.

“Words cannot explain,” Alonso said. “This is unreal.”

Mets owner Steve Cohen tried to form two sentences.

“Great players, they shine in the clutch, right?” Cohen said. “It’s an amazing moment for him and the team.”

The Mets have gone far without Alonso having them on his back. If he’s hot, the Mets will be more dangerous against the Philadelphia Phillies starting Saturday afternoon.

Before the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza once again kept his faith in Alonso and said, “We’re waiting for that one hit. I hope today is the day.”

Well worth the wait.

“Proud of him,” Mendoza said after the match. “It’s a dream come true for him and for all of us.”

Seven minutes after the Mets took the lead, while the team was celebrating on the field, sections of fans behind New York’s dugout at American Family Field began loudly chanting, “Pete.” A-lon-so! house A-lon-so!“

It’s a name deeply etched in Mets bullpen history.

(Top photo of Pete Alonso: Credit: Benny Sieu/Imagn Images)