Edgardo Alfonzo

Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo
(Fonzie)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 210 lb.
• High School Colegio Cecilio Acosta
• Debut April 26, 1995
• Final Game June 11, 2006
• Born November 8, 1973 in Santa Teresa del Tuy, Miranda, Venezuela

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Biographical Information

Edgardo Alfonzo played 12 seasons in the big leagues. He hit over .300 several times, with a high of .324 in 2000, and he slugged 146 home runs with a high of 27 in 1999. He primarily played third base (889 games) and second base (549 games). His best seasons came as a member of the New York Mets. On August 30, 1999 he became the first player in Mets history to have a six-hit game, doing so in a 17-1 win over the Houston Astros; he also hit three homers that day for the only time in his career and scored six runs, which tied the major league mark for a single game.

Nicknamed "Fonzie", Alfonzo primarily wore number 13. He showed talent early in his playing days, hitting .331 in Rookie ball in 1991 and .356 for the Pittsfield Mets in A Short-Season in 1992. He was considered a strong clutch hitter, launching a two-run home run in his first at bat against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1999 National League Wild Card one-game playoff and staking Al Leiter all the support he would need in a Mets shutout. The next night, Fonzie took future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson downtown in the 1st inning of the Mets' NLDS duel with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then slugged a grand slam to break a 4-4 tie in the 9th and stake New York to another win.

Following two seasons that were decent, but not at his peak 1999-2000 performance level, Alfonzo was allowed to leave via free agency and joined the San Francisco Giants for 2003. Despite flashes of his old self in 2004, he washed out of the Majors after a cameo with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006. In February 2009, he signed a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. He debuted on Opening Day, hitting 6th between Seung-yeop Lee and Shinnosuke Abe, and went 1 for 4. He was released after the season and last played in 2012 in the Chicago White Sox system.

He joined the Brooklyn Cyclones coaching staff in 2014 as their first base coach. He moved up to bench coach in 2015-2016 with the Cyclones before managing the team from 2017-2019, winning the New York-Penn League title in his last year. After the season Alfonzo accepted a Mets' offer to serve as a club ambassador and he made occasional appearances on behalf of the team over the next two years. Alfonzo wanted to return to coaching in 2022, but the Mets had no openings for him. This led him to look elsewhere, and he accepted a managing position for the new Staten Island FerryHawks of the independent Atlantic League.

Alfonzo only stayed with the FerryHawks for one season. In 2023 he was a coach for the Palm Beach Marlins, a summer collegiate team playing in the Collegiate League of the Palm Beaches. After the season he tried his hand managing the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan League, but this did not go well, and he was dismissed on December 2nd. It appears he returned to coach the Palm Beach Marlins again in 2024.

In 2020, it was announced Fonzie would be inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame, along with pitchers Ron Darling and Jon Matlack.

His brother, Roberto Alfonzo, played in the Mets organization in 1993 and 1994. Another brother, Edgar Alfonzo, played in the California Angels and Baltimore Orioles organizations and preceded him as Brooklyn's skipper. His nephew, Edgar Alfonzo, Jr., also played professionally.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (2000)
• NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1999/2B)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1999 & 2000)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1999)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1999 & 2000)

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2017	Brooklyn Cyclones	New York-Penn League	24-52	14th	New York Mets
2018	Brooklyn Cyclones	New York-Penn League	40-35	5th	New York Mets
2019	Brooklyn Cyclones	New York-Penn League	43-32	1st	New York Mets	League Champs
2022	Staten Island FerryHawks	Atlantic League	48-84	10th	Independent Leagues

Related Sites

• Edgardo Alfonzo at the SABR Bio Project