I was born in Baltimore, and all my life I have been a baseball fan. It was required. The first song I ever learned to sing was Take Me Out to the Ballgame. My mom is a consummate Oriole fan, so that’s how I was raised. Some of my earliest memories include knocking on her bedroom door late at night, only to find her listening to the Orioles on the radio, in the dark, with her glasses on. (She said this fine-tuned her senses.) Of course, this would be for the travel games out West. And it was way before the magic of cable or satellite TV.

My mom and I on my 11th birthday at the Memorial Stadium Oriole restaurant before the game.

But I digress. This post is about Tuesday night. A night that shall go down in the annals of Oriole history. Not because we won the pennant or clinched a place in the playoffs, but because one of our newest Orioles, Pete Alonso, hit his 300^th career home run to tie the game against his former Mets – in the ninth inning. And it gets better.

The Mets series began on Monday night. We didn’t understand the love that those Mets fans have for Polar Bear Pete (yes, that’s his nickname. I think it’s because he’s such a big presence at first base, hits the ball hard, and is strong as a polar bear). This was Pete’s first time back to his former team’s home. He played for the Mets for seven years. It was moving to see the tribute video they played for him on Monday, but that was nothing compared to the reception he received.

When he came out to greet his many fans, who were donning his jersey and holding signs lauding his praise and their love for him, the fans went wild. Cheers of PETE, PETE, PETE filled the stands. I’m sure it was humbling for Pete – a guy who just shows up every day, hits a lot of RBIs and homers, and rarely misses a play at first base. You know, just a regular superstar.

Monday, Pete did not hit a home run. In fact, he went 0 for 3 with a walk. At his every at-bat, the fans were on their feet. But, alas, no home run on Monday. What would Tuesday hold?

Tuesday held much of the same for Pete as far as crowd enthusiasm goes. It was off the charts. I don’t even know how he could concentrate with so much hoopla. It must have been deafening and humbling and distracting and wonderful. He made it to bat five times and went 1 for 5. But that one, well that was THE one. In the ninth inning he launched one over the wall for his 300^th lifetime home run to tie the game. Against his former teammates. In front of around 30,000 fans. None of whom seemed to care that their team would have to try to regain the lead. It was a Pete Alonso love fest. He even took a curtain call. In his Oriole uniform. In front of a stadium full of Mets fans. I’ve never seen anything like it.

The ninth inning ended with a tie, so off to extra innings we would go. Both teams would score one in the tenth, which made way for the most exciting eleventh inning I’ve witnessed. We (the Orioles) had two men on and Coby Mayo, who has been killing it against lefties and now is spreading terror among righties, slugged one to the center field fence for an inside-the-park homerun. And big Mayo can run. Run, Mayo, run! The Orioles win 7-5. (The Mets scored one run in the bottom of the eleventh.)

An inside-the-park homerun is almost as rare as the reception that Pete received from his adoring Mets fans. This is why I love baseball. It’s a team sport. It’s an individual sport. The two go hand in hand and there are so many games that you get to know the players.

I have my own Pete Alonso story. Back in May, Bob and I traveled to Miami to see our Orioles play the Miami Marlins. And we were not alone. Easily half of the meagerly attended game consisted of Oriole fans. We were two rows behind the Oriole dugout. I could have spit on them if I wanted to, but I didn’t. Even though spitting is a decidedly baseball thing. I think it should be reserved for the players and not the fans.

But back to the game. The Oriole dugout is on the first base side, so we got great views of Pete. He is a friendly, interactive guy. Before the game started, he threw baseballs to the fans. I’m sure I could not toss a ball over the high netting that protects fans from errant fly balls, but Pete did it easily. The fans went wild. There was a sweet young family in front of us. Dad had on a Mets Pete Alonso jersey. The kids wore a mixture of Oriole and Alonso paraphernalia. I’m sure those kids will grow up confused, but that’s okay!

Bob and I were taking it all in and then it happened. Pete threw a ball right to us. Uh oh. My first reaction was to put my arm up and catch the ball. If you know me at all, I’ll give you a chance to pause here and laugh.

Almost immediately, I pulled my arm down and Bob threw his hand up to try to catch the ball. We should have brought a glove! It was an amazing throw as the ball landed right between my left hip and the side of the chair. It bounced out and Bob got it. Yay!

The family in front of us clapped and then Bob tossed the ball to the young boy. Bob was like a Pete Alonso ball delivery boy, and he made that kid’s day.

Meanwhile, I had a souvenir of my own. A baseball-sized bruise on my left hip which would stay with me for the next two months. I called it my Pete Alonso. Eventually the bruise faded, but not the memory. I got a hit in a baseball game, or I should say I got hit. Either way, I was in on the action.  I quickly became a Pete Alonso fan, too.