Ready to ride
Alfonzo set for first games as Cyclones' skipper
For eight major league seasons, Edgardo Alfonzo took the field at Shea Stadium and developed himself into one of the best infielders in Mets history.
As he was doing so, Alfonzo thought about being in the manager’s seat one day, making critical decisions and helping to develop his own players.
He will make his debut Monday night as the Cyclones travel to face the crosstown Staten Island Yankees at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
“It’s definitely something I thought about,” Alfonzo told The Post. “If the situation presented itself, I wanted to go for it.”
Alfonzo played 12 seasons in the majors with four teams, hitting .284 with 146 home runs and 744 RBIs, earning a Silver Slugger award in 1999 and an All-Star appearance in 2000. He was part of the lone Mets teams to reach consecutive National League Championship Series and he wants to impart that type of culture to his own team.
The Cyclones, the Mets short-season Class-A team, last reached the New YorkPenn League playoffs five years ago, and haven’t finished a season with an above .500 record since 2014. But in the world of minor league baseball, a season is not only judged on wins and losses, but also in player development.
“As a manager you want to win,” Alfonzo said. “When you are in a situation to win, that’s what you want to do, but you also want to develop guys in pressure situations. This is a good place to do that.”
In fact, it’s in Coney Island where some recent Mets players honed the skills necessary to move up within the organization and to the majors.
Look up and down the current Mets’ roster and names of former Cyclones are found throughout. Michael Conforto, Lucas Duda, T.J. Rivera, and most recently Brandon Nimmo, who recently returned to Flushing after he did not produce enough results during a stint with the big club last season.
“We told the guys today that they are going to have fun playing here, but you want to be at Citi Field,” Alfonzo said. “This is where you start. Michael Conforto played here. That’s your goal and that type of motivation is key.”
Meanwhile, in Staten Island, the Yankees are coming off of a 44-31 finish last season and a first-round exit from the playoffs. The team last won the New York-Penn League title in 2011, but has achieved sustained success over the last few seasons.
Manager Julio Mosquera was introduced to his team Saturday and has a multitude of players the organization would like to see him develop this season. There is 19-year-old
Wilkerman Garcia of the star-studded international free-agent class of 2014, a former Fordham standout in pitcher Greg
Weissert and last year’s New York-Penn League RBIs, leader outfielder Timmy Robinson.
“This is what we do in the Yankees organization,” Mosquera said. “We develop winning mentalities and have specific game plans for each player.”