Scary Moment For New York Mets Fans, As Nats Take Down Polar Bear

New York Mets first-baseman Pete Alonso is never afraid to get his uniform dirty. In the fourth inning, the burly Home Run Derby champion tried to score from first on a double to the wall by new teammate Eduardo Escobar. Fleet of foot, Alonso is not. He was gunned down by Washington shortstop Alcides Escobar on a perfect relay-throw to the plate. But that wasn't the worst of it in Game 1 of 2022 for the Polar Bear, as he is nicknamed.

With the Mets leading 5-1 in the 9th inning, Alonso narrowly avoided a tragic injury when a 94-mph slider from Mason Thompson deflected off of his shoulder and hit Pete's helmet flap. The flap then hit him in the mouth knocking the 245-pounder to the ground. Blood could be seen running down Alonso's face in a very scary scene at Nationals Park.

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After the game, Mark W. Sanchez of nypost.com heard from Alonso about getting hit. "Just a busted lip, that’s it. Got all my teeth, no concussion, I’m all good." Alonso also added that he was checked for a concussion and cleared the protocols.

Alonso was the 3rd New York Mets hitter to get clunked on Thursday. James McCann got hit twice. New Amazin's outfielder Starling Marte yelled at the Nationals players on the field. “When I saw they hit my guy, I’m pissed off because I don’t want anybody hit. I’m a guy protecting my players,” Marte told nypost.com

What did new Mets manager Buck Showalter think about the whole ordeal? “It’s an emotional game, played by people who care.” the skipper told nypost.com. What about Alonso? “He’s going to have some sexy lips for a couple days.” After the 5-1 victory for the Mets in their first game of 20220, I imagine Pete's doing just fine.