Pete Alonso, Mets riding playoff pumpkin to NLDS

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It was the Grimace cleats. Obviously all the power came from Pete's Grimace cleats pic.twitter.com/XutPDMEYJj
— Michael Clair (@michaelsclair) October 4, 2024

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The story of how the pumpkin -- and its carved-up Jack O'Lantern version -- became a symbol of Halloween is connected to Irish folklore, with people carving turnips to ward off the devil.

The story of how Pete Alonso and the Mets turned to the humble pumpkin as a symbol to rally around, looking to the autumnal orb as harbinger of good fortune, is a lot more simple: Alonso picked up the gourd at a nearby Milwaukee pumpkin patch ahead of the team's Wild Card series against the Brewers.

Whether it was simply coincidence or it was the undeniable power of the decorative gourd that inspired Alonso to break out of his postseason slump and deliver a once-in-a-lifetime game-winning three-run home run on Thursday night to send the Mets to the NLDS, we'll never know.

"It's the playoff pumpkin," Alonso explained. When asked if that was all there was to the story, Alonso reiterated it: This was the playoff pumpkin. What more explanation could you need?

"Nothing's more fall than playoff baseball and pumpkins," Alonso said after the game, cradling the lucky pumpkin while celebrating in the clubhouse.

The pumpkin is just the latest in a long line of postseason superstitions, connecting the Mets to the Cardinals rally squirrel, the Twins' Homer Hanky and the Nationals' embrace of "Baby Shark." Of course, this Mets team has almost as many good luck charms as they have players, with the team turning its season around thanks to that lovable purple ... thing ... Grimace.

And when Alonso homered last night, what was on his feet? Nothing other than special Grimace-purple cleats.

Hey, it's not a superstition if it works.

How a pumpkin became a gourd luck charm for Alonso, Mets