Mike Puma of the New York Post spoke with Edgardo Alfonzo, who heard on Tuesday that he would be inducted into the New York Mets’ Hall of Fame.
The focus of the discussion, though, centered around his firing from the Brooklyn Cyclones this offseason, which appeared to blindside Alfonzo.
“I thought I might get promoted a little bit because we won the championship,” Alfonzo told Puma. “And I liked what I did with the guys, because I taught them how to play, how to compete, how to play in New York the way you are supposed to.”
It certainly was surprising to see Alfonzo get fired after the Cyclones won the New York Penn League Championship in September. Unfortunately, he “never received a real explanation” for that firing from GM Brodie Van Wagenen.
The Mets’ GM hasn’t given much of an explanation publicly either, leaving many perplexed by the decision to part ways with a fan favorite Met.
Despite the organization firing Alfonzo from this offseason, he has “no problem at all” with the organization and “understands this is a business.”
“I talked to Jeff and he knows me,” Alfonzo said. “I am always going to be a Met. I like the Mets and I understand this is a business situation, but I am here and I really appreciate it and hopefully one day we can do some stuff together.”
Managing still remains Alfonzo’s goal for now, though, and he plans to pursue that wherever that takes him.
“There is a lot of stuff to do, a lot of responsibility to have and I learned that and I became a manager for the last three years and then I loved it because you get more into it with the players and teaching and talking about the game,” Alfonzo said. “And I would like to do that, if not with the Mets, with somebody else, but baseball is like that. I am still waiting to see what happens.”
The Mets recently hired his replacement, Ed Blankmeyer, who served as the head coach of St. John’s baseball for 24 seasons.
