Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo (born November 8, 1973), nicknamed Fonzie, is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an infielder from to , most notably as a member of the New York Mets, with whom he played in the 2000 World Series and was chosen as a member of the National League All-Star team. Alfonzo's 29.7 wins above replacement (WAR) as a Met place him as the seventh most valuable player in franchise history. Alfonzo also played for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Toronto Blue Jays and Navegantes del Magallanes from the LVBP. After his major league career, he played in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol in 2008 for the Tigres de Quintana Roo then, played for one season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Yomiuri Giants in . When his playing career ended, Alfonzo became a coach and later, the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2020, Alfonzo was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. Early life Alfonzo was raised in Soapire, Venezuela by mother Mercedes Porfiria, a preschool teacher, and father Edgar Alfonzo Sr., a truck driver. Alfonzo's older brother, Edgar Jr., taught him to play baseball. Edgar signed with the California Angels in 1985 when he was 18 years old and Alfonzo was 11. Edgar sent his baseball paychecks back home so that their father did not have to spend time away from the rest of the family driving a truck. Playing career New York Mets Alfonzo was signed by the Mets as an undrafted free agent in . That year he joined the Gulf Coast League Mets. The following season Alfonzo moved up and split time with the short-season "A" Pittsfield Mets of the New York–Penn League and Class "A" Florida State League St. Lucie Mets in . Alfonzo returned to St. Lucie the next season and played for them in . In , he was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Class "AA" Eastern League and led the team in home runs and RBI. Alfonzo made his Major League debut on April 26, 1995. At the beginning, he was a semi-regular fielder, splitting time at second base, shortstop, and third base with several others. During his rookie season, Alfonzo spent most of his time at third base while accumulating a .310 batting average after the mid-season break.