NEW YORK - Pete Alonso reached for a fastball on the outer part of the plate and sent it soaring just to the right of straightaway center field. He held the handle of his bat and slowly took eight short steps toward first base, his face expressionless, eyes fixed on the ball.
He followed its path into the first row of seats, 415 feet away, then started his trot and raised both arms, index fingers pointed skyward. On the next-to-last day of his first season in the major leagues, he hit his 53rd home run to break the MLB rookie record New York Yankees star Aaron Judge set in 2017.
"There's just euphoria and magic," Alonso said. "It was like an out-of-body experience, almost. I felt like I wasn't standing in the box alone."
A 24-year-old with a prematurely receding hairline and a rapidly ascending career, Alonso earned extended standing ovations from the adoring crowd of 32,210 at Citi Field during the New York Mets' 3-0 win over the playoff-bound Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.
Alonso broke out his wide smile when he crossed home plate and exchanged a slap and hug with teammate Robinson Canó. Others celebrated with him in front of the dugout. Alonso raised both arms again, tilted his head back and looked to the sky.
And then when he went to first base for the top of the fourth inning, he pursed his lips, exhaled deeply, blinked over and over and dabbed at his eyes, his cheeks glistening with sweat and tears.
"I was just kind of thinking about all the greats in the game of baseball. I was thinking about guys like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, guys like Aaron Judge," Alonso said, "and the fact that I'm ahead of those guys as a rookie, it's mind-blowing."
Third baseman Todd Frazier, who coined Alonso's nickname, Polar Bear, during spring training, told the rookie to let out his emotions.
"He had trouble rolling grounders in between innings there," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said.
A night after tying Judge's record, Alonso launched a 93 mph fastball on a 1-2 count from Mike Foltynewicz (8-6). The shot in the third followed a two-run homer earlier in the inning by light-hitting backup catcher René Rivera.
"When he puts it in play, you're holding your breath," Foltynewicz said. "He just hits the ball so damn hard. He kind of just reminds me of Bryce Harper."
Alonso's mom, Michelle, and dad, Pete, watched from the stands with the player's fiancée, Haley Renee, who recorded a video of the plate appearance.
The ball was caught by a father attending the game with his wife and three kids. The family gave the ball to Alonso and met with the Home Run Derby champion after the game, receiving autographed memorabilia.
Alonso, who has 120 RBIs, thought back to April 1, when he hit his first MLB home run against the host Miami Marlins in his fourth game. Teammates dumped him into a laundry cart for a rookie hazing ritual.
"I felt like yesterday I was getting raw eggs put on my head, mustard, flour, soap, mouthwash, whatever anybody could find," he said. "And 52 later it's just crazy. That seems like forever."
Not even assured a roster spot at the start of spring training, Alonso headed into the final day of the regular season leading the majors in homers, four ahead of the Cincinnati Reds' Eugenio Suárez. No rookie since 1900 has won an outright home run title in the big leagues.
"Pretty cool accomplishment," Judge said after the Yankees' road game against the Texas Rangers.
He offered to take Alonso to dinner in the offseason - on Judge's dime.
"He's paying for it? Oh, dang," Alonso said. "Is he picking where we're eating or am I picking? I'll talk to him. But if he's picking the place, it's probably McDonald's or something, because I eat a lot. But if I get to pick and it's on him, then it may be like Peter Luger."
Steven Matz (11-10) allowed two hits and five walks in six innings, finishing with a winning record for the first time since his first full MLB season in 2016.
Jeurys Familia, Brad Brach and Edwin Díaz finished the three-hitter. Diaz struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 26th save in 33 chances this year but his first save since Aug. 15, also against the Braves.
Foltynewicz - an All-Star last year who started the division series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers - was bothered by elbow discomfort during spring training, was demoted to the minor leagues and made his first four starts for Triple-A Gwinnett. Recalled by Atlanta, he went 2-5 with a 6.37 ERA in 11 outings and got sent down in late June for five more outings with the Stripers.
Foltynewicz had been 6-0 in nine starts since his return on Aug. 6. Rivera's home run, on a hanging slider, was his first since Aug. 15 last year for the Los Angeles Angels off San Diego's Kirby Yates.
Atlanta's playoff rotation lines up to have left-hander Dallas Keuchel (8-8) start the division series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers or the St. Louis Cardinals, with Foltynewicz and rookie right-hander Mike Soroka (13-4) likely to follow.
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said the order won't be finalized until Monday at the earliest, and he still isn't sure whether to include 11 or 12 pitchers on his roster.
"I don't know if we're a finished product yet. We're still young and talented," Snitker said. "Honestly, I'm not so sure these guys didn't start the year expecting to do this. Nobody else did. I think they did. Everybody else picked us to finish fourth, I think."
Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman was 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts a day after returning from four days off to rest his sore right elbow. He has not homered since Sept. 1 and entered in a 2-for-31 slide.
Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who hasn't played since Tuesday because of a tight left hip, will take batting practice for three days starting Monday and will run Wednesday, a day before the playoffs begin for Atlanta.
Ender Inciarte, who last played Aug. 16 because of a strained right hamstring that still causes discomfort, returned to Atlanta to be examined and the outfielder will "be down for the foreseeable future," Snitker said.
Utilityman Johan Camargo, out since fouling a ball off his right shin on Sept. 11, also will miss the division series.