Edgardo Alfonzo: 2000 NL Champion Mets Second Baseman (1995 - 2002)

Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo was born November 8, 1973, in Santa Teresa, Miranda Venezuela. His father was a truck driver & his mom a pre-school teacher in Caracas.

His oldest brother Edgar Jr. played minor league ball from 1985-1996 later becoming a minor league coach. The middle Alfonzo brother Robert played minor league ball in 1993-1994 later becoming a scout.

In his native land, his brother Edgar taught him baseball. There he watched the likes of Andres Galarraga, Tony Armas, Omar Vizquel & veteran Gonzalo Marquez play winter ball. 

The five-foot eleven right-handed hitting Edgardo was signed by the New York Mets as an undrafted free agent in 1991 at age 17.

In his first two seasons at low level A ball, he hit over .330, moving to St. Lucie in 1993 where he hit .294 with 84 RBIs. By 1994 he was leading the AA Binghamton Mets in HRs (15) & RBIs (75) batting .293.

#13: Alfonzo chose the uniform #13 along with Venezuelan players Ozzie Guillen & Omar Vizquel in honor of fellow countryman Dave Concepcion of the Cincinnati Reds.

Mets Career: After the 1994-1995 baseball strike ended, Alfonzo made the Opening Day squad, having skipped playing AAA ball.  On opening day in Colorado, he made his MLB debut as pinch hitter going 0-1 in an 11-9 Mets loss. On April 30th he made his first start going 0-3 in a 3-0 shut out to St. Louis. 

He proved to be a versatile infielder & managed to get into Dallas Green's Met lineup mostly third base especially after the Mets traded Bobby Bonilla. Alfonzo would also fill in at short stop & second if needed.

 On May 6th, he hit his first career HR, a two-run shot off the Reds Matt Groh in a 13-11 loss. In early June on a west coast road trip, he hit HRs in two of three games at San Francisco driving in seven runs with four hits in the series. On June 23rd he had another multi-RBI game driving in three runs in a 9-3 win over the Braves.

After the first half of the season, he was batting .254. He missed time with a herniated disc in August & again in September but hit but .342 overall in the second half of the season.

Edgardo finished up his rookie year batting .278 with 93 hits 4 HRs 13 doubles & 41 RBIs. He posted a .309 on base % with a .683 OPS in 101 games. 

Over the next seven years Alfonso became a regular in the Mets infield, he never made more than 12 errors in a season & posted some of the league’s top fielding percentages in that time. 

1996: The year started with the Mets playing Jeff Kent at third base & Jose Vizcaino at second base. Alfonso would back up the both of them in a utility role until late July. On July 29th, the Mets traded both Kent & Vizcaino to Cleveland in exchange for Carlos Baerga. A trade that did not work out as Baerga was not the same player in New York.

Alfonso struggled, batting just .218 thru late June. He didn't hit his first HR until July 14th, in a game where he also doubled & drove in three runs in a Mets win over Houston at Shea Stadium. On July 29th, he hit his next HR, a two-run shot coming off the Pirates Chris Peters in Pete Harnisch's four hit 5-0 shutout. 

In August the Mets fired Dallas Green & the Bobby Valentine era began in New York. Edgardo was seeing more playing time & drove in 13 runs that month. In late August he had back-to-back multi-RBI games on the west coast. In September thru the end of the season he hit .352 (25-71) with 2 HRs 5 doubles & 9 RBIs.

First Multi HR Game: On September 19th in a 7-2 win at Philadelphia, Alfonso hit two HRs off Phillies pitcher Rich Hunter. It was his career first multi-HR game.

On the year he batted a modest .261 hitting 4 HRs 15 doubles 2 triples & 41 RBIs getting 368 at bats in 123 games. He posted a .304 on base & .649 OPS. The Mets finished fourth that year 71-91.

1997: This year, Alfonso became the Mets main third baseman & his solid defense had him to come in second for the Gold Glove voting. He posted a .997 fielding % & turned 29 double plays (both 3rd in the NL). 

After a slow start where he hit just .205 in is first 15 games, he had back-to-back three hit games & things picked up. By late May, Edgar was batting .300. Over the next three months he hit .357 collecting 95 hits in that time.

In late June he went on an 18-game hitting streak where he drove in 15 runs. On June 21st, his 8th inning two run HR off the Giants Marc Wilkins led the Mets to a 3-2 win at Shea Stadium. He drove in runs in five straight games with the Mets winning three of them by just one run, two of them against the rival Braves. On July 2nd, he drove in three runs in a 9-7 loss at Detroit, then finished his hit streak driving in runs in three straight games.

On July 6th, Alfonzo doubled in the 7th inning in a game against the Florida Marlins tying the game up 2-2. The Mets went on to win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Carl Everett walk off hit. 

Walk Off Sac Fly: On August 5th, Alfonso's 10th inning sac fly off the Cardinals' John Frascatore, scored Bernard Gilkey with the games winning run for the Mets walk off win.

First Grand Slam: On August 14th, he hit a grand slam HR off the Cardinals' Donovon Osborne in a 6-2 Mets win at Busch Stadium. It was his first career grand slam.

Five RBI Game: On August 25thin a 15-6 Mets blow out of the Giants at Shea Stadium; Alfonzo had a huge four hit game driving in five runs. He began with an RBI single, then RBI double off Kirk Rueter.

In the Mets eight run 7th inning, Edgar cleared the bases with a three-run single off Jim Poole.

Overall, he drove in 22 runs on the month & was batting .335 with a .410 on base %.

A modest September had him finish the year hitting .315 (8th in the league) which was best on the Mets team. He was second on the team to John Olerud with a .391 on base %. Edgar hit 10 HRs with 27 doubles, 84 runs scored & 72 RBIs posting a .823 OPS.

Hometown Hero: By now Edgardo became known as a hero in his hometown in Venezuela. He was also becoming one of the most popular Mets players quietly getting the job done.

The improved Mets finished 88-74 that season but were still in third place.

1998: By now Alfonzo's presence was not just recognized on the field, but he became a clubhouse leader as well.

Alfonso remained as the Mets main third baseman & once again was second in the Gold Glove voting. He made just nine errors & posted a .976 fielding % with 117 put outs (both second in the NL) while turning 20 double plays. He was also second in the Gold Glove voting for the second straight year.

At the plate he started to hit for more power with an increase in HRs & run production.

He missed time in May due to injury but still batted .366 in 11 games that month. When he returned to close out the month with eight RBIs in a three-game span. On May 31st he collected four hits with four RBIs leading the Mets to an 8-6 win over the Phillies at Veterans Stadium.

In mid-June, Edgar collected seven hits & drove in seven runs over a four-game series with the reigning World Champion Marlins in Florida. The Mets split the series two-two. When the Marlins came to Shea, he drove in three more runs in the series. On June 21st, with the Mets tied 2-2 in the 7th inning, Alfonzo's infield single bought in Brian McRae with the go ahead run that held in the 3-2 Mets victory.

Multi HR Game: On July 1st, Alfonso hit a pair of HRs in Toronto driving in three runs in a wild 15-10 Mets loss to the Blue Jays at Skydome. He collected two of the Meta 14 hits that day, as the Blue Jays collected 15 hits.

Three Strait Multi RBI Games: On July 21st he drove in a pair of runs in a 4-0 win at Shea Stadium over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Rick Reed & John Franco combined on the shut out. 

The next day in a double header in Milwaukee, Alfonso drove in the winning run with a top of the 9th inning double in the first game. He drove in two more runs in the second game as the Mets swept the twin bill.

In August he batted .347 with seven HRs & 20 RBIs raising his average twenty points. In the month he had two seven game hit streaks & drove in ten runs in the first two weeks of the month. 

Walk Off Hit: On August 1st, his 9th inning double off Jeff Shaw gave the Mets a walk off win against the LA Dodgers. 

On August 6th he hit a three run HR off Orel Hershiser in San Francisco, helping the Mets in a 9-8 win. Two days later he homered in Colorado helping the Mets in a 4-3 win. 

In the nightcap of an August 21st double header, his 1st inning solo HR off St. Louis' Manny Abar was the only run in a 1-0 Mets win over the Cardinals. It was his tenth HR of the season. 

Multi RBI Game in LA: On August 29th, he faced the Dodgers Jeff Shaw down 3-2 in the 9th inning in Los Angeles. With two outs & a runner on first base, Alfonso hit his 12th HR of the year, a two-run shot putting New York ahead 4-3 for the win. 

He went into September driving in runs in five straight games. In the first eight games of September Edgar blasted four HRs with three multi-RBI games as well. 

Game Winning HR Off john Rocker: On September 7th he faced the Braves John Rocker in the bottom of the 8th inning down 7-6. With two outs Tony Phillips had drawn a walk, Alfonzo then blasted his 16th HR of the year leading the Mets to an exciting 8-7 win over the soon to be hated Rocker. 

On the 1998 season he batted .278 with 155 hits 17 HRs 28 doubles 94 runs scored & 78 RBIs posting a .355 on base % & .782 OPS. The Mets were convinced he was to be one of their main players & inked him to a four-year $18 million deal. 

 

1999 Mets Wild Card Season: In the off season the Mets acquired RBI man Robin Ventura to play third base.  Edgardo Alfonso was moved over to play the second base after the departure of Carlos Baerga. At first, Alfonzo was upset at yet another switch but soon settled in to being one of the best at his latest position.

S.I.'s Best Infield: The 1999 Mets infield was one of the finest defensive gloves ever assembled on a diamond. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci actually dubbed them “the best ever" in a featured magazine article that year. Ventura & Ordonez both won Gold Gloves at their positions.

Alfonzo finished up with the best fielding percentage of all NL second baseman (.993%) committing just five errors in over 400 chances, playing in 158 games at the position.

  

In the Opening Day loss to the Marlins in Florida, Edgardo got two hits. He then hit safely in nine of his first ten games, with five of those games being multi-hit games. 

On April 10th, with the Mets down 3-2 to the Expos in the top of the 8th inning, Fonzie tied the game up with an RBI base hit off Steve Kline. The Mets went on to win it in the top of the 11th with Todd Pratt's RBI single.

On May 7th, he collected four hits with three RBIs & a HR in a 14-7 loss at Arizona. 

On May 12th, he hit a long two run HR off Dave Wainhouse in Colorado, along with an RBI double driving in four runs in the Mets 10-5 victory. As the Mets moved on to Philadelphia, Fonzie drove in five runs over the next two games, giving him a total of ten RBIs over a four-game span.

He began June hitting safely in 14 of 15 games. From June 12th to June 18th in a seven-game span, he drove in at least one run in each game. That month he hit .318 with 22 RBIs. In July he batted .385 with 11 doubles & 20 RBIs posting a 1.025 OPS.

On July 4th, with the Mets behind 6-4 to the Atlanta Braves in the 7th inning, Alfonzo hit a three run HR off John Smoltz leading New York to a 7-6 win. He drove in four runs in that game.

On a mid-July Road trip, the Mets took two of three from the Tampa Rays, pulling out both games with one & two run wins. Alfonso drove in at least one run in each game then drove in a run in all three games of a series at Camden Yards with the Orioles.  On that road trip the Mets were 6-2, as he drove in nine runs, gathering an RBI in all but one game. 

On July 25th at Shea Stadium, Edgar homered off the Cubs Steve Trachsel, making the difference in the 2-1 Mets win. On August 1st, his 10th inning sac fly put the Mets ahead of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cubs tied the game, but the Mets won it on pitcher Pat Mahomes 13th inning RBI base hit.

To start out August, Fonzie drove in 17 runs in the first twelve games of the month, including RBIs in five straight games from August 4th to the 9th.

Five RBI Game: In a Shea Stadium night game on August 11th, Alfonso hit a 1st inning two run HR off Sterling Hitchcock of the Padres. 

In the 5th he hit a two run double to center scoring Pat Mahomes & Rickey Henderson. In the 7th he drew a bases loaded walk to complete his season high five RBI night in a 12-5 Mets win.

On August 15th he had a three-hit night four RBI game in San Francisco, including a HR off
Livan Hernandez. The next day on August 16th, he hit a HR in the top of the 10th inning off San Diego's Will Cunnane breaking a 3-3 tie leading the Mets to another victory.

Walk Off Hit: On August 22nd, the Mets were down to the Cardinals 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th inning. With one out, Rey Ordonez & Matt Franco drew walks. Rickey Henderson tied the game with an RBI double. Alfonzo then singled off Ricky Bottalico scoring Franco with the game winning walk off run.

On August 23rd, he reached the 20 HR mark for the first time in his career, with a 1st inning HR off the Astro's Scott Elarton in a 3-2 Mets win.

Three HRs 6 for 6 Night: On August 30th, Edgardo had one of the biggest games of his career. He would match his season high five RBIs, while collecting six hits & have his only multi-HR game of the season. 

In the 1st inning he hit a solo HR off Shane Reynolds. In the 4th, he connected off Brian Williams with a two-run shot & then hit a led off the 6th with a solo HR off Sean Bergman for his 23rd of the season. His five RBIs led the Mets in the 12-5 win. 

Quotes- Bobby Valentine: " He gets in an RBI situation & doesn't worry about it, he just hits".

 

Overall, in August he hit 8 HRs while driving in 26 runs batting .305. As September began the Mets were 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves but had the second-best record in the NL, leading the wild card hunt. 

Alfonzo started the month driving in runs in the first three games.

On September 3rd, he hit a two run HR off Colorado's Brian Bohanon in a 4-2 win over the Rockies at Shea. 

100th RBI: On September 12th, Alfonzo hit his 25th HR of the year, a 1st inning two run shot off the Dodgers Greg Gagne in a 10-3 win in L.A. The two runs gave him 100 RBIs for the season.

The next night he drove in two more runs with a two-run single in the Mets 6-5 win at Colorado.

Overall, in September he only batted .232 with 14 RBIs but drew an incredible 30 walks & scored 16 runs.

He finished the year posting career highs with 27 HRs, 108 RBIs, & a team leading 41 doubles. Alfonzo also set a Mets team record scoring 123 runs (3rd best in the NL). He batted .304 drew 85 walks, posted a .385 on base % & a .886 OPS.

He won the Silver Slugger Award at second base while also leading the team in hits (1532) total bases (315) & sac flies (9). 

Alfonso came in eighth in the MVP voting.

The Mets made it close almost blowing their chances of a playoff berth. They lost eight of their last nine games & ended up having to play a tie breaker with the Cincinnati Reds to determine who moves on into the post season.

The Mets lost a coin toss & the game was played in Cincinnati.

Tie Breaking Game: In the 1st inning, after Rickey Henderson reached with a single, Fonzie led the Mets hitting attack with a two run HR off the Reds Steve Parris setting the tone. Later in the game he drew a walk & scored on Robin Ventura's bases loaded walk. In the game Fonzie had two hits, two RBIs & two runs scored with a walk & the HR.

Mets pitcher Al Leiter pitched the best game of his life, tossing a two-hit shutout, while striking out seven. He led the Mets to a 5-0 victory & their first playoff berth since 1988.

1999 Post Season- NLDS: The next night the Mets went right to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks in the 1999 NLDS. 

A Two HR -Grand Slam - 5 RBI Playoff Game: In the 1st inning, the red-hot Alfonso homered off Randy Johnson giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the 9th inning, with the score tied a four, Robin Ventura & Rey Ordonez both singled. Melvin Mora then drew a one out walk, setting the stage for Alfonso once again.

Facing pitcher Bobby Chouinard, Alfonso blasted a grand slam HR breaking the game open, leading the Mets to an 8-4 win.

In the Game #2 loss Alfonso went hitless. In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Edgar doubled in the 3rd inning & scored on John Olerud's base hit to tie the game. He would score two runs in the 9-2 Mets win.

In Game #4, Alfonso led off the 4th inning with a HR off Brian Anderson, putting the Mets on the board first. In the bottom of the 8th inning with the Mets down by a run, Alfonso drew a leadoff walk from Greg Olson, then advanced to third based on an Arizona error. He scored the tying run on Roger Cedeno's sac fly to center field. 

The Mets went on to win the game on Todd Pratt's classic walk off HR in the 10th inning. The Mets advanced to the NLCS. 

Overall, in the NLDS Fonzie had three HRs & six RBIs going 4-16 (.250) walking three times & scoring six runs.

1999 NLCS: In the 1999 NLCS the Mets went up against their archrivals, the Atlanta Braves.

In Game #1 Alfonso collected a pair of doubles off Greg Maddux in the 4-2 loss. In Game #2 he had two more hits, including an 8th inning RBI double off Kevin Millwood. The Mets lost that game 4-3 falling behind two games to none.

He was held hitless over the next two games, striking out three times in each contest.

In Game #5, which was a four-hour, 15 inning epic Alfonso went an overall 1-6. The Mets won that game on Robin Ventura's walk off grand slam single. In the final Game #6 at Turner Field, Fonzie collected a hit & walk. 

In the NLCS Alfonso batted only .222 (6-27) with four doubles & one RBI.

2000 Mets Pennant Season: The Mets opened the season with a two-game series in Japan, Alfonzo started out with an Opening Day double in the Mets 5-3 loss. The next day he collected a hit & three walks in the 5-1 Mets win.

Four Hit / Four RBI Game: On April 30th in a 14-11 Mets win at Coors Field in Colorado, he had a season high four hit/ four RBI game. In the top of the 8th, he hit a two run HR off Stan Belinda & had previously driven in two runs with a two-run single.

He had a good April batting .348 posting with a .479 on base % & 19 RBIs. hitting in 12 of 16 games,

On May 10th, he drove in three runs in a 13-9 loss to the Pirates. 

On May 20th, in case Arizona hadn't seen enough of Edgardo last season, he made sure to haunt them again this season. He drove in three runs with a 7th inning two-run HR off Greg Swindell leading the Mets to an 8-7 win. They almost blew it once having an 8-0 lead in the game. He drove in two more runs the next game, as Derek Bell won it with a walk off single off Byung-Hyun Kim.

On May 30th, Edgar had another three RBI game in Los Angeles in a 10-5 Met win. In May he drove in 23 runs and was batting .355 with a .446 on base % as the month ended. 

Subway Series HR: On the Friday night June 9th regular season subway series opener, Alfonzo hit his 12th HR of the year, a two-run shot off Roger Clemens. Mike Piazza added a 3rd inning grand slam as the Mets scored nine runs off Clemens wit ten hits in the 12-2 shellacking. But overall, he went just 4-24 in the two regular season series against the AL team.

On June 24th his 8th inning single tied up the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he then scored the game winning run-on Todd Zeile's double later in the inning.

Seven Run Comeback: On June 30th at Shea Stadium, the Mets were down 8-1 to the Braves in the bottom of the 8th inning. They made an incredible comeback scoring ten runs. Alfonzo's two run single off Terry Mullholland tied the game up at eight. Next, Mike Piazza's three run HR led to the 11-9 victory.

In June Fonzie hit safely in 16 of 21 games batting .308. He went into a slump in July only hitting one HR & driving in just six runs.

2000 NL All Star: That season he made his only All-Star team, going 0-2 in the 6-3 NL loss at Turner Field.

He began August in a streak where he hit safely in 10 of 12 games. He would finish the month hitting safely in 11 of 13 games. Overall, he hit .360 in August with 5 HRs & 19 RBIs.

In a mid-August series with Colorado at Shea, he drove in three runs in back-to-back games. On August 18th, in a 5-3 win at Dodger Stadium, he had his third four-hit game of the season. On August 28th he hit a three run HR in Houston leading the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Astros, the only other Mets run that day came in on a balk. 

In September he was consistent in the Mets wild card chase, hitting seven HRs in the month driving in 15 runs. 

On September 14th he reached the 20 HR mark for the second straight season with a solo HR off Mike Thurman in Montreal. On September 16th, Alfonzo matched his season high with four RBIs in a 10-2 win at Montreal. He hit a three run off Dustin Hermanson & added an RBI single as well.

From September 20th to September 29th Edgar drove in eight runs in a nine-game span. He drove in thirteen runs in the final two weeks of the season as the Mets clinched a playoff berth with a wild card.

Overall, in the 2000 season Fonzie batted a career high .324. He led the NL Champs in hits (176) doubles (40) on base % (.425%- 5th best in the NL) walks (95) & runs scored (109). He hit 25 HRs with 94 RBIs, & a .967 OPS second on the club to Mike Piazza).

His 276 times on base was 10th most in the league. He was one of the best all-around second baseman in the game, posting a .985 fielding %. He came in 15th in the MVP voting.

2000 Post Season- NLDS: The Mets went on to face the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS.

In the Game #1 Mets loss Alfonso was 1-5. In Game #2 at San Francisco, his only hit came in the 9th inning. With two outs & the Mets up 2-1, Timo Perez was on first base. Alfonso hit a long HR to left center field giving the Mets a 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 9th, Armando Benitez would blow the lead, giving up a three run HR to J.T. Snow. The Mets went on to win it in the tenth inning after Jay Payton singled home Daryl Hamilton.

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, the Mets were down 2-1 in the 8th inning. Mike Bordick was hit by a pitch to start the inning. 

Lenny Harris came in to run for him. Alfonso doubled down the line off Giants closer Rob Nenn, driving in Lenny Harris to tie the game. Up to that point Nenn hadn’t blown a save since the All-Star break. 

The Mets went on to win this one with a dramatic walk off Benny Agbayani HR in the bottom of the 13th. Centerfieldmaz was in attendance for this game.

In Game #4 the Mets Bobby Jones tossed a one hitter, giving the Mets a 4-0 shut out, advancing them to their second straight NLCS. In the 5th inning, Alfonso hit a two run double to give the Mets the 4-0 lead.

In the NLDS against the Giants, Alfonso went 5-18 (.278) with two doubles, a HR, a walk & five RBIs. Benny Agbayani & Timo Perez also led the club with five series RBIs.

2000 NLCS: In the NLCS Alfonso tore up St. Louis Cardinals pitching, batting .444 (8-18) with four walks, four RBIs and five runs scored. He posted a .565 on base percentage scoring and driving in at least one run in all but one of the five games.

In Game #1at St. Louis, he walked in the first inning & scored the second run of the game on Robin Ventura's sac fly. In the Mets 5th, he singled home Daryl Hamilton giving the Mets a 3-0 win. They went on to win it 6-3.

In Game #2 Alfonso's single in the top of the 8th inning off Matt Morris, scored Timo Perez to break up a 3-3 tie, he would come around to score on Todd Zeile's two run single. Alfonso had two hits two walks & two runs scored, in a game the Mets went on to win 6-5.

As the series shifted to New York, the Cards took Game #3 with Alfonso collecting two more hits.

In Game #4 he drove in the first run of the game with a ground rule double in the first inning, scoring Timo Perez. It was the only hit he had in the Mets 10-6 win, giving them a 3-1 Series lead.

 In the final Game #5 clincher at Shea Stadium, in front of 55,695 wild Mets fans at Shea
(Including centerfieldmaz) the upper deck was literally shaking as the Mets went on to clinch the pennant. 

In the bottom of the 1st, Alfonso drove in the first run of the game again with a single bringing home Timo Perez. Alfonso would score on Robin Ventura's single, as the Mets put up three on the board while sending ten men to the plate.

In the 7th inning, Fonzie was at bat when Rick Ankiel threw two wild pitches to him, nowhere near the strike zone. The Mets fans let him have it, as one wild pitch even brought in a run. Alfonso had two hits in the 7-0 Mike Hampton shut out. 

Trivia: Alfonso insisted that his brother Edgar be allowed in the clubhouse to celebrate with him after the pennant victory.

2000 World Series Hit

2000 Subway World Series:  For the 2000 Subway World Series, there was plenty of fanfare & hype as New York City had its first Subway Series since 1956.

In the Game #1 extra inning loss, Alfonso went hitless until the 7th inning. The Mets were down 2-0 when Bubba Trammel tied the game with a two-run pinch hit single. With the score tied 2-2, Todd Pratt was on third & Trammel on second, as Alfonso came to bat. He hit a weak ground ball to third baseman Scott Brosius who couldn't make a play. Alfonzo reached safely with an infield hit as Pratt scored the go ahead run 3-2.

Armando Benitez blew the lead as the game went to extra innings. Alfonzo struck out to end the 12th inning.

Game #2 was highlighted by Roger Clemmens tossing a bat in the direction of Mike Piazza. Pizza's bat had broken & landed in the direction of Piazza after it had shattered. This added to the drama between the two.

Alfonso was hit by a pitch to start the 4th inning. He had struck out in the 1st & would fly out in the 6th.

In the top of the 9th inning with the Mets down 6-0, Alfonzo led off with a base hit off Jeff Nelson. He would score on Mike Piazza's two run HR. The Mets made a strong comeback led by Jay Payton's three run HR off Mariano Rivera but fell short 6-5, falling behind two games to none in the series.

Over the next three games Alfonzo struggled going 1-12 as the Mets lost the series in five games. Overall, in the World Series Edgardo hit just .143 (3-21) with one RBI.

2000 Post Season Stats: In 14 post season games Fonzie batted .281 (16-57) with three doubles a triple, a HR 10 RBIs 7 runs scored six walks & a .369 on bae % with a .790 OPS.

After the Pennant: In 2001 Alfonso suffered from a bad back. He missed 38 games but also had it affect his hitting as he hit a career low .243. 

HRs in Four Straight Games: From April 24th thru April 26th, Fonzie hit HRs in four straight games. The first came off the Reds Elmer Dessens in a 5-1 Mets win. In the next three games he connected in Milwaukee off the Brewers Jamey Wright, Jimmy Hanes & Will Cunnane.

In April he batted just .236. He hit four HRs in May & was only hitting .250 at the end of that month. 

After missing a week of action, he returned on June 7th to hit a two run HR & drive in three runs leading New York to a 6-5 win at Philadelphia.

He went on the disabled list from June 13th through July 2nd. When he returned, he was still affected by the injury as he hit just one HR in 22 July games played. By the end of the month his average fell to .228. He had a better month in August batting .286 hitting 5 HRs with 17 RBIs. 

On August 26th he drove in four runs against the San Francisco Giants hitting a three run HR leading the Mets to a 6-5 win. He drove in two more runs the next day & had eight RBIs in a six-game stretch.

Post 911: In the first game played after the September 11th attacks on New York City, he went 1-4 in the 7-5 win at Pittsburgh. 

September 19th- Baseball Returns to NY Post 911: The first game played back in New York City after the 911 attacks, was an emotion night for everyone. The Mets honored the rescue workers & families of those who lost their lives. The Mets hosted their rival Braves & the two teams had an emotional greeting to each other before the game.

The game is looked at now as a classic, as Mike Piazza hit an 8th inning HR that would win the game for the Mets. Before Piazza's HR Fonzie had singled to centerfield. He was replaced by pinch runner Desi Relaford in that memorable game. 

Multi HR Game: On September 30th he had his only multi-HR game of the season, hitting two
HRs off the Braves Kevin Millwood in a 9-6 win in Atlanta.

The Mets could not defend their NL Champion title & finished third at 82-80. For 2001 Fonzie played in 124 games batting .243, he hit 17 HRs with 22 doubles 49 RBIs 64 runs scored, a .322 on base % & & .725 OPS. At second base he made seven errors turned 61 double plays & posted a .987 fielding %.

2002: At the start of the season Alfonso was healthy again & was back at third base after Robin Ventura had departed. The Mets brought in Roberto Alomar for second base, but he failed miserably.

Alfonso started the year with three hits on Opening Day in the Mets 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Shea. 

Walk Off Hit: On April 15th he hit a 12th inning walk off RBI single off the Braves Kevin Gryboski giving the Shea fans a big thrill beating their archrivals.

In April he didn't hit any HRs & drove in just six runs but hit .322. In May he kept his average up to.316 by the end of the month.

On June 7th he singled breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the 7th inning off Danny Baez in Cleveland, leading the Mets to a 4-3 interleague victory. 

The next day he singled with the bases loaded in the 7th inning, giving the Mets the lead once again. They rallied & went on to win this one 8-6.

Later in the month, he drove in two runs in two separate games against the Minnesota Twins & Kansas City Royals. Both games were won by the Mets by one run. From June 12th through June 20th, he hit five HRs & went on to drive in runs in ten straight games.

By early June the Mets started their decent & fell to 16.5 games back of first place by early August. The season was a bust, the new players Mo Vaugh, Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Pedro Astacio, Scott Strickland & Sean Estes didn't work out.

In August he missed three weeks of action landing on the DL with a strained oblique muscle, but still hit HRs in three games & had three RBI games as well.

For the dismal 2002 fifth place Mets, he personally rebounded from the previous year to lead the team in batting (.308) walks (62) runs (78) & on base percentage (.391). He hit 16 HRs, with 56 RBIs & 27 doubles. 

At third base Alfonso made 12 errors in 385 chances there posting a .969 fielding %. This was Bobby Valentines last season managing the Mets as he was fired & the replaced with Art Howe.

Injuries & Winding Down His Career: The injuries began to wear Alfonso down physically, and at an age where he was expected to be in his prime, he was winding down his career. The Mets chose not to sign him for 2003 and he went west to the San Francisco Giants.

Class Act: Being the gentleman he was, he bought ad time thanking the fans of New York for their support. The ads were launched on Valentine's Day, sported on various cabs & bus billboards throughout New York City. He left the Mets among the top of many club records. 

All Time Mets Leader Board: As a Met he collected 1136 hits & 614 runs scored (both 5th all time). He has 212 doubles (6th all time) 538 RBIs (7th all time) 1086 games played (10th all time) & 120 HRs (12th all time). 

Fonzie also posted a .292 Mets batting average & in two post seasons, he batted .277 with 4 HRs & 18 RBIs.

Post Mets Career: He played three seasons in San Francisco having two good years but never matching his Mets numbers. In 2003 he batted .258 driving in 81 runs with 25 doubles & 13 HRs.

In 2004 he hit better for average, batting .289 with 11 HRs with 226 doubles & 77 RBIs. By 2005 he only hit two HRs with 17 doubles & 27 RBIs in 109 games.

He spent 2006 with the Dodgers & Blue Jays before getting released on June 12th.

Post MLB Career: Edgardo went on to play in the independent league with the Long Island Ducks. In 2006 the Mets gave him a shot of a return, signing him to a minor league contract, but he didn’t make the club.

Career Stats: In his 12-year MLB career he hit .284 lifetime, with 1532 hits, 282 doubles 18 triples 146 HRs 744 RBIs 596 walks a .357 on base % & a .782 OPS.

Alfonso played 889 games at third base posting a 968 fielding %. He played 549 games at second base posting a .986 fielding % making just 33 errors in 2416 chances. He also played 34 games at short & two games at first base.

Retirement: He played in the Mexican league (2008) then in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants (2009). He returned to the Independant League playing in Newark with the Bears along with former Mets teammate Armando Benitez in 2010.

Honors: Fonzie must be recognized as one of the best Mets all-time top players in the late 1990s/2000 era. 

He attended & was greeted warmly at the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium in 2008.

Mike Piazza Mets Hall of Fame Induction 2013

In July 2013 he represented the Mets at the MLB All Star Fan Fest. He was also on hand at Citi Field, supporting Mike Piazza as he was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame. 

Brooklyn Cyclones: In 2014 he was bench coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones under manager Tom Gamboa. Alfonso was then considered for the Mets hitting instructor job but did not get it. 

Brooklyn Cyclones Manager: After Gamboa retired, Alfonzo took over as the Cyclones manager as well as serving as a Mets roving coach. 

In September of 2019 he led the Brooklyn team to a New York Penn. League Championship.

On Opening Day 2016 he was on hand with John Franco & Rusty Staub raising the Mets 2015 NL Champion Flag at Citi Field. 

Family: Alfonso married his wife Delia in 1995. She had grown up living down the street from him in Venezuela. Together they have three children.

In 2017 his son Daniel Alfonzo was selected by the New York Mets in the 38th round, out of Bayside High School.

Mets Hall of Fame: In 2021 Alfonso was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame along with Ron Darling, Jon Matlack & Al Jackson.

Alfonzo was on hand for the Mets 2022 Old Timers Day.