On Thursday afternoon, New York Mets legend and current organizational ambassador Edgardo Alfonzo made his first public comments following his dismissal as the Short Season-A Brooklyn Cyclones’ manager in October.
In an Instagram post, Alfonzo, 45, made it clear he harbored no ill will toward the organization who signed him as a 16-year-old out of his native Venezuela, though the 12-year MLB veteran did convey his desire to continue on this path.
“I did my best to teach the youngsters how to be a professional and to develop their physical and mental skills and to play together as a team. My coaches and I are very proud of the championship we won and I think that says a lot about my leadership as a manager.”
“The many changes in [managers and coaches] in the Mets’ system reflect that the new regime simply wants their own people in the system, so I am not taking this personally. I met with [COO] Jeff Wilpon, and they would like to retain me as an ambassador, which I may do, but my preference is to remain in uniform on the field.”
On October 17, just over a month after Alfonzo’s Cyclones won the New York-Penn League championship, the Mets relieved him of his duties, with the New York Post reporting that Van Wagenen wanted to “hire his own people”, as per team sources.
During Carlos Beltran‘s introductory press conference as the Mets new skipper earlier this week, Van Wagenen finally addressed the change, telling reporters that Alfonzo’s removal was a “player development decision”, adding that the team wants to “keep ourselves on the path of putting players in the best situation”.
By all accounts, Alfonzo was well-liked by his players and, as evidenced by their title run this season, was making strides as a manager. After spending three seasons as Tom Gamboa’s bench coach in Brooklyn, Fonzie was named the Cyclones’ manager in January 2017.
Over three seasons at the helm, the team went 107-119. After going 24-52 in his first season as manager, Brooklyn went 73-67 over the last two years, culminating in the team’s first NYPL title since 2001.
