Forget the MVP chain, Swag Chain, or any other piece of bling you’ve seen Major League Baseball teams celebrating accomplishments with this season. The New York Mets have apparently taken the home run celebration in a whole different direction.
Here’s a New York Mets home run celebration we certainly didn’t expect to see
With the New York Mets embarking on a 10-day, 11-game homestand that could provide plenty of drama with the upcoming trade deadline approaching, Pete Alonso provided an opening to the homestand on Friday night that was picture perfect. The Home Run Derby champion once again flashed his prowess for hitting the long ball in the first inning of Friday’s contest against the Toronto Blue Jays, turning on a 1-1 pitch and blasting it over the left field wall to give the Mets a quick 2-0 advantage.
While Alonso hitting a home run may not be anything new (it was his 20th home run of the season), how Alonso and the Mets celebrated the long ball was something that baseball fans had not seen so far this season.
The Homer Horse? Dugout pony?
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 23, 2021
Whatever you call it, we're here for it 🐴🐴🐴 pic.twitter.com/i0g7HmtWIQ
Yes, that’s Alonso greeting a stuffed horse at the side of the Mets dugout after his home run. Yes, the horse is wearing a hat and Mets warmup jacket over his torso. No, we don’t know the name of the horse (yet) or why the celebration was started, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on in Queens. Are we seeing the start of a new tradition?
Whatever it is, here’s hoping the Mets players don’t yell too loud after any upcoming big plays or, like their new mascot, they might get a little hoarse. Sorry, bad joke there.
By the way, Alonso now has hit six homers in the first inning this season. Only Kyle Schwarber (10), Manny Machado (9), and Jose Altuve (7) have hit more in the initial frame than the Mets slugger.