If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That saying was clearly not lost on Mets slugger Pete Alonso, who got very creative when helping his team find a way to honor 9/11 victims.
Alonso initially wanted to create custom 9/11 hats for his teammates to wear during their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, MLB refused to grant permission for the tribute hats to be worn during the game.
Undeterred, Alonso decided to have custom 9/11 cleats made, except this time, he didn’t bother asking MLB for permission.
“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 explained to reporters. “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.”
Alonso admitted that he neglected to inform MLB of his plan to provide 9/11 themed cleats because he felt the league would not approve them.
“I felt if MLB got their hands on it, it may not have been approved,” he said. “But I’m happy we banded together in the clubhouse and made something cool happen.”
The Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-0 on Wednesday night. Incredibly, as Fox News reports, the Mets scored 9 runs off of 11 hits.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn