I’ve never been a secret admirer of Edgardo Alfonzo. My baseball affections for the would-have-been all-time Mets hit leader (had he remained a Met a few more seasons, which would have been nice) have been oft-expressed in these parts. And now, as you can see, they’ve been requited. Fonzie…you shouldn’t have!
OK, he didn’t, but the National League’s best all-around second baseman from the shank of the Bobby Valentine era was such a sweetheart that he agreed to pose with Valentina the Bear on Beanie Baby Day at Shea in the ever-lovin’ year of 1999. This picture was snapped by our very own hobbyist-media embed, Sharon Chapman, then on assignment for Mary Beth’s Bean Bag World magazine. Fonzie wasn’t the only Met with a heart of gold that morning. Several of Valentine’s players took time out from their Wild Card pursuit to fondle something furry for all the world to see. Now those are what I call real Mets.
Happy February 14 from Faith and Fear, along with No. 13 in your 1995-2002 program, No. 9 among your One Hundred Greatest Mets of the First Forty Years, and No. 3 (first Seaver, then Gooden, then Alfonzo) in my heart of Met hearts.
that picture just made my whole day!
That's what it's here to do.
God, I miss him.