Watch: Pete Alonso accidentally threw player's first MLB hit into the stands
Their first Major League hit is a big deal for every player that makes "The Show," and it is always capped off with that player getting the baseball as a keepsake.
Everybody on the field is usually aware of the situation and works to get the rookie the baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals rookie Masyn Winn did not have a smooth experience with that on Friday.
He was able to leg out an infield single against the New York Mets for his first career hit. And instead of having the baseball thrown into the Cardinals dugout where the equipment staff could take care of it, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso had what he described as a "brain fart" and threw the ball into the stands.
Whoops.
Cardinals fans were not happy, and the anger only seemed to grow when the person that caught the baseball did not immediately want to give it back.
A trade was eventually completed, Winn got his baseball, and Alonso ended up feeling like a total jerk.
From the New York Post:
“I feel awful,” Alonso said after the Mets’ 7-1 victory at Busch Stadium. “I know it sounds stupid, but it’s just a bad brain fart. … I feel like a piece of crap. In the heat of the moment you just kind of get lost.”
Alonso said the first base umpire had told him they were going to need a new ball so he did what he always did and threw the ball into the stands.
That was not just some little innocent toss, either. He launched that thing deep into the stands.
It is not uncommon for teammates or team staff to have some fun with the rookie and prank them by throwing a different ball into the stands while keeping the real one, but this was obviously far from that. The important thing is Winn ended up getting his baseball.
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