Edgardo Alfonzo named manager of the Staten Island FerryHawks, Atlantic League's new team
New York Mets Hall of Fame inductee Edgardo Alfonzo waves to fans during the ceremony at Citi Field on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Another former Met — and another fan favorite, at that — will be leading an Atlantic League team this year.
The Staten Island FerryHawks, who begin play this spring, officially named Edgardo Alfonzo as their manager Thursday. Alfonzo, who played eight years with the Mets in the 1990s and early 2000s and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame last summer, joins Ducks manager Wally Backman as former Mets now in charge of Atlantic League teams.
Alfonzo managed the Brooklyn Cyclones — the Mets' Single-A affiliate — for three seasons and won a New York-Penn League championship in 2019 but was removed from that position shortly after by then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
Alfonzo is no stranger to the Atlantic League. He played 164 games for the Ducks in 2007-08. He also played for the now-defunct Bridgeport Bluefish in 2006 and Newark Bears in 2010.
Alfonzo’s nephew, Giovanny Alfonzo, played for the Ducks in 2017 and the High Point Rockers in 2019 and 2021. There was no Atlantic League season in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The FerryHawks make their first visit to Long Island on May 17-19. The Ducks travel to the Ballpark at St. George on Staten Island for the first time on June 10-12.
The Atlantic League's season begins in late April.
