Brooklyn Baseball Banter has been informed that former Mets All-Star infielder Edgardo Alfonzo will be returning to MCU Park’s dugout this season to serve as the Bench Coach to returning manager Tom Gamboa. This will be his 3rd season as a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones Coaching Staff.
In addition to his coaching duties Alfonzo has been a New York Mets Club Ambassador the past few seasons. The fan favorite of the 1999 & 2000 playoff teams can be found at Citi Field during select Mets home games, interacting with fans on the concourse and appearing at events.
Alfonzo joined the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2014, serving as the Roving Infield Instructor and 1B Coach. During that season, he worked most home games and a few road games, mainly games in Staten Island and Hudson Valley. In 2015, he had a higher role, serving as the Bench Coach for all 76 games. He began the season coaching 3B, a job usually handled by the manager. However, Yunir Garcia was eventually given the role so Alfonzo could be in the dugout. During a game which saw Tom Gamboa ejected before the 1st pitch, Alfonzo was given the reins for the night.
Edgardo is the 3rd member of the Alfonzo family to don the Cyclones uniform. His older brother was the team’s inaugural manager in 2001 & served as skipper again in 2007 & 2008. His nephew, Edgar Alfonzo Jr. pitched in 20 games for the Cyclones in 2004 & another 2 in 2005.
I really like this news......we can all have fun arguing about this organization, ownership etc but seeing a former player not only decide to go into coaching but be given the chance for multiple years to advance like this is a good sign to me.
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