Baltimore Orioles slugger Pete Alonso threw a birthday bash for son Teddy as he turned 1 on Monday, changing his walk-up music and, for the icing on the cake, hitting home runs No. 39 and 40 in a 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sept. 21st will be a day and night for the Alonso family to remember, indeed.
For starters, Alonso and his wife Haley began the day with a celebration at home, complete with presents and a large "Happy Birthday Theodore" banner.
Once he got to the ballpark, Alonso got right to work in the first inning. After walking from the batter's box to the plate to Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing," per normal, Alonso blasted No. 39 to right field.
He changed his tune in the eighth inning, however. In a one-time exception to celebrate Teddy, Alonso asked for "September" from Earth, Wind & Fire to be played.
Alonso then launched a a two-run blast to become the first Orioles player since Anthony Santander in 2024 to reach 40 home runs in a season.
"That's for him. That's his birthday song," Alonso told reporters. "Sick. It's 100% special, Hopefully, we can bookmark this game. I know it doesn't matter now, because he's not going to understand it for a couple years. But hopefully, a couple years down the line, I can kind of look back and just kind of bookmark this and keep it for the archives, and then hopefully, he appreciates it one day."
Alonso leads the American League with 108 RBIs.
"His baseball card, his accolades, the track record is there," manager Craig Albernaz said. "Hitting 40 home runs and having over 100 RBIs in this league is really impressive and the consistency he does it, that doesn't happen by accident. Just all the work he puts in behind the scenes."
With a new team and a newborn son, Alonso admitted it took some time this season to get into his usual rhythm.
"I think the hardest thing was navigating parenthood. It's like, 'How do we get this down?' Being husband, being dad, and then also being ready to my maximum capabilities by first pitch," Alonso said. "Just a couple routine tweaks, and I feel like as the season has gone on, I feel like I've just been able to kind of refine that and get more and more in tune and in rhythm.
"Really thankful for my teammates sticking with me. Really thankful for my wife."