By Joe D.
According to several reports, the New York Mets have told Edgardo Alfonzo that his contract with the Brooklyn Cyclones will not be renewed.
After serving as the bench coach in 2016, Alfonzo was named manager of the Cyclones in 2017, and what makes today’s news so stunning is that Fonzie led the team to their first solo New York-Penn League championship in franchise history this season.
One of the most popular players ever to play for the Mets, Alfonzo ranks fifth in hits (1,136) and runs (614), sixth in doubles (212), seventh in RBI (538) and ninth in home runs (120) in the team’s history.
Fonzie was selected as an All-Star in 2000, hitting .324 with 25 home runs, 40 doubles, and 94 RBI while helping the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since 1986.
On August 30, 1999, he went 6-for-6 with three home runs, five RBI and six runs and set team records in a game for hits, runs, total bases (16) and tied for the single-game home run mark.
Alfonzo was told that he was being let go because Brodie Van Wagenen wants to bring in his own people. He was offered a Mets ambassador position but it’s not clear as of this writing if he accepted it.
Such a strange turn of events especially after such a successful run as the manager of the Cyclones. Alfonzo was very highly regarded among his players who all spoke glowingly of him as a teacher and a leader.
