December 09, 2002
Farewell To Edgardo Alfonzo
A loyal member of the New York Mets organization for the last 12 seasons, who was basically pushed out the door for nothing more than the sin of actually doing what was asked of him.
When the Mets asked Alfonzo to play third base when he came to the big club, he did it. When they asked him to move to second to acccomodate free agent acquisition Robin Ventura, he did it without complaint -- a move that for a season, created one of the best infields in baseball history. And when the Mets acquired big ticket second baseman Roberto Alomar from the Cleveland Indians before last season, Alfonzo went back to third base.
It's also important to note that while Alfonzo did this, he consistently out-produced the higher paid Alomar offensively over the course of the entire season.
Now, with the team looking to cut some payroll in order to pay free agent acquisition Tom Glavine, the Mets declined to offer arbitration to Alfonzo -- an act that effectively ended his association with the club. Taking into account his loyalty, his flexibility, and his production (Alfonzo is simply the best offensive threat the team ever had at second base in club history), it was a fate he didn't deserve.
For the sake of the Mets, here's hoping Alfonzo finds a team in the American League that will better appreciate his talents.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/5
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
12:10 AM