David Lennon: Pete Alonso's return reminds Mets fans of better days, anger at David Stearns

The gushing adoration for Pete Alonso during Monday night’s Citi Field homecoming extended from the upper decks down to the infield dirt. When Flushing’s beloved Polar Bear first approached the plate, the 35,800 fans welcomed him back with one of many standing ovations — as did the Mets’ shortstop, who joined in the applause.

“I think he got every ounce of love that he deserved,” Francisco Lindor said.

Of course, there is an uglier side to the Alonso saga, too. Once he flied out to rightfield in that first at-bat, the lovefest took a nastier turn, as the “Fire Stearns!” chants kicked in full-throttle, echoing throughout the ballpark. It was inevitable. Just surprising the simmering vitriol took so long to bubble to the surface.

Because Monday night wasn’t just about Alonso returning to his former home after signing a five-year, $155 contract with the Orioles last winter. That’s only half the story.

The other chapter involves the decision-making by president of baseball operations David Stearns, who not only chose to move on from Alonso, but basically used the popular homegrown star as the platform for the ill-fated offseason makeover that led to this summer’s catastrophe.

Hence the undercurrent of rage. The Mets’ fan base seems like it misses Pete and despises Stearns in equal parts. How appropriate that Alonso’s return occurred on a night the Orioles’ 2-1 victory officially eliminated the Mets from playoff contention.

“I appreciate their sentiment and support,” said Alonso, who went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout. “I guess that’s just for years of effort and performance and doing whatever I could to help the team win.”

Under different circumstances, Alonso being welcomed back by the Mets wouldn’t be such a combustible event. If Stearns had succeeded in building a competitive team — or at least one that wasn’t 12 games under .500 (69-81) after Monday — the fans maybe could have put away their torches for the night.

But that’s not life in Metsville these days. They did the obligatory tribute video at 7:02 p.m., tracing Alonso’s career from the draft to his franchise-record 264th homer. As the ballpark was glued to the giant scoreboard, Alonso watched from the leftfield foul line. Fittingly, the highlight reel wrapped with a close-up of Alonso saying his signature line, “LFGM,” which brought a roar from the crowd. Pete responded by clapping into his glove.

“I gave it all every opportunity I had,” Alonso said of his seven-year Mets’ run. “And never took the opportunity for granted.”

The problem for the Mets, however — and Stearns in particular — is that all these memories, all these amazing moments for the franchise, were weaponized in the days since Alonso’s departure. The Mets have been an injury-riddled mess at first base in sinking to the bottom of the National League while Alonso is doing the usual Polar Bear stuff down in Baltimore, putting up MVP-caliber numbers (35 HRs, 100 RBIs) and playing every day (all 151 games for the Os). Since June 1, Alonso’s .937 OPS and 24 homers both rank fifth in the majors. His 163 wRC+ is third, behind only the two MVP candidates Pete Crow-Armstrong (186) and Yordan Alvarez (168).

Still, Alonso took the high road Monday when asked repeatedly about his split with the Mets. During batting practice, Alonso shook hands with Steve Cohen, and later clarified that the owner did indeed reach out to him after he signed with the Orioles, contrary to the player’s statements earlier this season.

“I respect their decision,” Alonso said pregame. “The guys running the team, it’s their prerogative to do whatever they think is best. So for me, I respect it professionally, and I’m so stoked to be an Oriole. Also, I feel very fortunate to have played all the years I have with the Mets.

“Two things can be true at the same time. I’m very happy and appreciative of my time that I spent as a Met and I’m beyond grateful and appreciative for the Baltimore Orioles.”

Count Alonso’s homecoming among the extremely rare occasions that the Flushing crowd sided with a visiting player. Back in 1977, when Tom Seaver returned two months after the “Midnight Massacre” that dealt him to the Reds, he climbed the mound to a standing ovation and pitched a six-hitter, striking out 11 in Cincy’s 5-1 victory.

Darryl Strawberry literally had strawberries thrown at him in rightfield and was booed frequently in his 1991 trip back to Shea Stadium with the Dodgers after leaving as a free agent. Jacob deGrom also bolted Flushing, like Alonso, for a five-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers, but the two-time Cy Young winner was treated warmly when he returned in 2025. Plus, Billy Eppler was the GM when deGrom left, so Stearns wasn’t calling the shots at the time.

Alonso just showing his face again at Citi Field was bad enough for Stearns, who wisely kept out of sight before Monday’s game. But the Orioles slugger also happened to be on the brink of another career accomplishment — standing at 299 home runs, just like Lindor. It’s probably a safe bet that Alonso won’t leave Citi Field without that chip in his pocket.

“I know ‘Paco’ is chasing down that same milestone, so it would be really cool if both of us could do it in the game,” Alonso said, referring to Lindor’s nickname. “If we were to do it on the same day, that would be really sick.”

Still sounds like the same Alonso. And the run-producing stats haven’t changed, either. The only difference now is that he was wearing an Orioles uniform Monday, a fact the Citi fans enthusiastically ignored. And Stearns will never escape.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.