To commemorate the 18th anniversary of 9/11 and honor victims and first responders, New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso ignored MLB rules and ordered custom cleats for himself and his teammates.
Alonso had previously reached out to MLB about ordering custom hats for the 9/11 home game, but the league rejected his idea.
Instead, Alonso went with shoes that were painted red, white and blue and were inscribed with “We will never forget.” Fittingly, the Mets ended their 9-0 over the Arizona Diamondbacks with nine runs on 11 hits.
Here are the custom-made spikes Pete Alonso had made up for his Mets teammates to honor the servicemen and women at Ground Zero.
"I don't just want to be known as a good baseball player," Alonso said. "I want to be known as a good person, too." pic.twitter.com/f3IQIU45XV
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 12, 2019
Pete Alonso orchestrated the Mets’ wearing of commemorative 9/11-themed cleats tonight.
He planned it for weeks, ordered & paid for everybody’s shoes and enlisted other clubhouse leaders (including Jacob deGrom) to get everyone on board. pic.twitter.com/fiJbYCU8mq
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 12, 2019
“For me, it came from a place where I wanted to show support, not to just the victims but the families as well, because no one knows how deep those emotional scars can be,” Alonso said. “I just wanted to show recognition to all the ordinary people who felt a sense of urgency and an admirable call of duty. It’s for all the people that lost their lives and all the people that did so much to help.”
Making the major-league minimum, Alonso risked a hefty fine from MLB for circumventing the rules with the cleats. But, MLB will not be fining or disciplining Alonso, a source told SNY’s Andy Martino.
It’s not the first time the impressive rookie has made an effort to help offset the impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In July, Alonso donated $50,000 of his $1 million prize to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation after winning the All-Star Home Run Derby.
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