Edgardo Alfonzo - Definition and Overview

Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo (born November 8, 1973 in Miranda State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who plays for the San Francisco Giants.

Alfonzo was signed by the New York Mets as a non-draft amateur free agent in 1991 and made his debut in the 1995 season. At the beginning he was a semi-regular fielder, sharing second base, third base and shortstop with several others. In 1997 he started regularly on third; from 1999-2001 played at second, and came back to third in 2002.

While he has shown ability to score a home run on fastballs, Alfonzo is primarily a line drive hitter with power to all fields. He is a patient hitter. He can hit behind the runner, bunt, hit-and-run, hit in the clutch, and he takes a significant number of base on balls. Alfonzo has some speed but has never put it to use to steal bases.

Coming off two excellent seasons in which he batted .304 and .324, Alfonzo had every reason to expect a big year in 2001. He had his best powers in 1999 (27 home runs, 108 runs batted in, 41 doubles) and 2000 (25, 94, 40), and at 27, he was at an age in which many hitters have their best season. However, Alfonzo suffered from a variety of injuries, including sore right hand, knee, thigh and a back injury from years before, costing him playing time and lowering his record to .234, 17 HRs, 49 RBI. He finished 2002 with .308, 16, 56, and was traded to the Giants at the end of the season.

In 2003 Alfonzo struggled for most of the first half. He was hitting .216 with 27 RBI at mid-season, but he hit .306, 54 the rest of the way, and he also was the only Giant who hit against the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. He went 9-for-17 for a .529 of batting average with five RBI.

Despite his injuries, Alfonzo remains one of the best defensive third basemen in the majors. He has great range and instincts for the position, ability to turn the double play, and his arm, though not the strongest around, is above-average.

Alfonzo is a .288 hitter with 144 home runs and 696 RBI in 1367 games.

Highlights

• All-Star (2000)
• Silver Slugger Award (1999)
• Top 10 MVP (8th, 1999)
• Twice Top 10 in batting average (1997, 2002)

See also

• Players from Venezuela in MLB

External links

• Edgardo Alfonzo at:
  • Baseball Reference (analysis and stats) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/alfoned01.shtml)
  • ESPN (profile and daily update) (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5363)