New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso apologized on Friday night after he threw St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Masyn Winn’s ball from his first career base hit into the stands.
Alonso admitted it was mistake on his part.
“I feel horrible,” Alonso said after the 7-1 win. “I feel awful. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s just a bad brain fart. I know throwing the ball into the stands, that robs him of a really special moment. I feel really bad.”
"I feel horrible. I feel awful. I know it sounds stupid, but it's just a bad brain fart."
Pete Alonso says he feels "terrible" for throwing the ball from Masyn Winn's first hit into the stands: pic.twitter.com/KCAsECWK84
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 19, 2023
Typically after a first career hit, strikeout, home run, etc., the routine is to throw the ball back into the team’s dugout for safe keeping. A memento for a special moment in a player’s career.
Alonso knows that all too well.
“Thinking back on my first hit, and just getting the ball back to the dugout — I just, I feel like a piece of crap. In the heat of the moment, you kind of just get lost. Got up from trying to make a play, then umpire said, ‘Hey, we’re going to switch this ball out,’ so I’m going to do what I also do and I always throw the ball in the stands, but I’ll never throw the ball in the stands again. Just going to roll every ball into the dugout whenever we switch it out.”
Naturally, everyone had a field day with it, and the Cardinals dugout was frustrated with what happened. So much so, first base umpire John Tumpane had to take a few moments to relax the situation.
Cardinals prospect Masyn Winn with his first career MLB hit… and Pete Alonso tossed the ball into the stands. ⚾️pic.twitter.com/ii8gkiaj0O
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 19, 2023
The three-time All-Star, visibly remorseful, said once again it wasn’t on purpose and he apologized to Winn.
“It’s a really bad mistake — completely unintentional, I feel horrible about it, I feel really bad,” Alonso continued. “I apologized to [Winn] when I was at second after the force out, and then I’m really sorry, and I’m going talk to him and try and get him something for tomorrow as an apology because it’s stupid, it’s a really bad look and I feel like an idiot, and I feel terrible — I feel really bad.”
[SNY]
