Did the Atlanta Braves break the New York Mets?

No, it was Pete Alonso who angered the baseball gods

For a magical moment, everything was going right for the New York Mets. 

It was June 6th, about 8:00 PM, and Pete Alonso was feeling good. 

The Mets 1st baseman had just hit the Mets 2nd homerun of the 3rd inning against Atlanta's Bryce Elder to take a 4-1 lead in Truist Park. Elder, who ended up being a 2023 All Star, hung a slider, his 2nd of the inning, and both Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso did not miss those hanging sliders. 

Pete, in his enthusiasm, mistakenly said the cursed words:

"Throw it again!" 

Surely he didn't taunt a fellow competitor? 

Checking the tape, he in fact did, and he doubled down, immediately: 

"Throw it again, please!"

Here's that tape: 

“THROW IT AGAIN PLEASE”

- Pete Alonso to Bryce Elder after the HR pic.twitter.com/TyqKegFOT4

— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) June 7, 2023

At least he asked nicely? 

But alas, tacking on a request at the end wasn't enough to spare New York from the wrath of the baseball gods. 

Because you see, Pete and the Mets made a crucial mistake when they taunted the opposing pitcher: 

They hadn't yet won the game.

And in fact, the Mets would go on to lose this game, with Atlanta scoring five unanswered runs to come back and take the series opener. And the next one. And the one after that, getting swept by Atlanta. 

They'd continue losing games, going from 6.5 games back in the NL East when this series started to 18.5 games back by the end of June. They went 6-15 for the rest of the June schedule, losing series to Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, and Houston, and Philly, and Milwaukee. 

In fact, the Mets didn't win another series until July, when they took two out of three from the San Francisco Giants at home. Maybe they've finally served whatever penance the baseball gods demanded, with a five game win streak as they head into San Diego's Petco Park for a matchup with the Padres.   

Did Atlanta break the Mets? 

No.

Pete Alonso broke the Mets. 

Because he forgot Michael Jordan's cardinal rule of trash talking: 

Never do it when you're ahead. 

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