This was the look of a very content man.
Shield your eyes, Mets fans. Pete Alonso seems to be enjoying himself in Baltimore.
After the Orioles’ walk-off win over the AL East-leading Rays on Saturday night, Alonso was spotted in the home dugout smoking a celebratory cigar.
Alonso is having a terrific first season in Baltimore, slashing .263/.362/.504 with 30 home runs, 85 RBIs and a .866 OPS entering Sunday.
By contrast, the player that was expected to replace him in Queens, Jorge Polanco, has hardly played (37 games) due to multiple injuries and is now out for the remainder of the season.
The Orioles are also playing well, and were just a game out of the final AL wild-card spot entering Sunday, when they fell 3-1 to Tampa Bay. They’re still five games under .500, which speaks volumes of the American League.
Alonso had been unconscious in August through Saturday’s game, with seven home runs and a 1.139 OPS. He hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in Friday’s win over the Rays.
“Things are firing on all cylinders which is nice,” he told reporters recently. “I knew it was coming, but also like there’s a lot of change. Like personally I had to be a ballplayer and a (new) father at the same time.”
