Pete Alonso rose to the occasion. So did Howie Rose.
Rose, the decades-long radio voice of the Mets, delivered an epic call befitting of Alonso’s go-ahead home run in Thursday night’s 4-2 victory over the Brewers in the winner-take-all Game 3 of their NL Wild Card series.
With the Mets trailing 2-0 with one out in the ninth, Alonso drilled a three-run home run just past the outreached glove of Sal Frelick and over the wall in right field at Milwaukee’s American Family Field.
“Swing and a fly ball to right field,” Rose said on ESPN New York 880, his voice gaining excitement. “Pretty well hit. Frelick back, at the wall. He jumps, it’s gone! He did it! He did it! Pete Alonso with the most memorable home run of his career!”
Pete Alonso's home run, as called by @Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose pic.twitter.com/6JnB1GW2ma
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024
The homer held up as the game-winner, sending the Mets to the NLDS, where they are set to face the Philadelphia Phillies.
Afterward, the Mets played Rose’s call on their plane, earning high fives for the play-by-play man — including one from a grateful Alonso.
They played @HowieRose’s call on the plane and it was EPIC! #LGM pic.twitter.com/JBU3udddBl
— x – New York Mets (@Mets) October 4, 2024
The win guaranteed Alonso, an impending free agent, will get at least two more games at Citi Field.
It was the latest magical moment for the 2024 Mets, who fell a season-worst 11 games below .500 in late May, only to rally to an 89-73 record, the third and final NL wild-card spot and, now, a berth in the NLDS.
Or, as Rose put it in his call, “Pete Alonso keeps this fairy-tale season going with the fairy-tale swing of his career!”