I attended a Somerset Patriots game last night in beautiful Commerce Bank Park in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The Pats hosted the Long Island Ducks, both teams are in the independent Atlantic League. There are eight teams in the league where you often see former major leaguers attempting to resurrect their careers.

There was no exception last evening as the Ducks fielded Richard Hidalgo in right, the DH was Carl Everett, P.J. Rose, Pete’s son was at first, and none other than Edgardo Alfonso was at short. It would have made my night had Benny Agbayani pinched hit in the 9th but alas he is still playing in Japan for Bobby Valentine.  

Hidalgo played half a season for the Mets and can be most remembered for hitting a slew of homeruns against the New York Yankees in Shea Stadium. Everett had his moment with the Mets and if I recall he once won a game by hitting a grand slam. I may be wrong but honestly I don’t care enough to look it up. The one player that had me puzzled all evening long was Alfonso. What the heck happened to him? He was an excellent player who seemed to lose his skills all at once.

Edgardo came up to the Mets in 1995 under manager Dallas Green predominantly as a third baseman. He also played some at second and at short. He batted .315 with 27 doubles and 72 RBI in 1997. His best years however were in 1999 and 2000 the years the Mets won the wild card in back to back seasons. Alfonso had shifted to second to accommodate third baseman Robin Ventura. That infield including John Olerud at first and Rey Ordonez at short proved to be the stingiest in baseball history.

Offensively Alfonso hit 41 doubles in ’99 and 40 in 2000. He batted over .300 in both season with his career best .324 coming in 2000, the year the Mets last won the National League pennant. The only time Edgardo batted in more than 100 runs was in ’99 when he knocked in 108. In ’00 he batted in 94. His homerun production in those two seasons was way up as he hit 27 and 25 dingers respectively. During the 2000 season, I recall Derek Jeter claiming the best player in New York was Edgardo Alfonso.

After 2000, Alfonso’s numbers began to drop. He went from 94 RBI in 2000 to 49 in 2001. Nagging injuries kept him out of a lot of action. In ’01 he played in 124 games, down from 150 the year before. His numbers continued to drop and ultimately Alfonso left and signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent for the 2003 season. His major league career ended in the American League with Anaheim and Toronto during the 2006 season. Since then he has patrolled the minor leagues. This is Alfonso’s second stint with Long Island. He also played with the Mets triple A farm team last season and in the Mexican League earlier this year.

I guess what it proves is that an Athlete’s career is short and uncertain. Who knows why Alfonso’s skills left him. Last night all Alfonso could muster was a run scoring sacrifice fly. Honestly he did not hit the ball hard against the Patriot pitchers, none of which will be pitching in the Majors any time soon.

It was good to see Edgardo again. He was one of my favorite players at least for a short time. I hope he invested his money wisely and is just playing now for the love of the game. The alternative is too sad to think about.