Fonzie Four Years Older ...

[Guest The Second Spitter]

I'm stunned.......and a little heartbroken. But I'd rather him have lied about his age, than taking PEDs. To quote Thomas Mauer from When We Were Kings: "what can happen that hasn't already happened?"
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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/mlb/2011/03/former-giant-older-than-thought - #xzz1IBntY0Vl

By: ANTONIO GONZALEZ 03/31/11 9:38 AM AP Sports Writer Former Giant Infielder Older Than Previously Thought He was named as part of "The Best Infield Ever" on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He took his team to the brink of World Series glory. That was in 2000. Now Edgardo Alfonzo has made the startling admission that he is four years older than previously believed. After an abortive comeback, last year, Alfonzo revealed to El Diario/La Prensa he was born in 1969 and not 1973, as documented throughout his baseball career. �It�s difficult to live with a lie. But after a while it becomes second nature�, Alfonzo told the largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in New York. When asked why he chose to come clean, Alfonzo simply replied: "La carga" (the burden). However, he does not believe the revelation will tarnish his legacy in New York. "I wanted to keep playing, so I could prove it my fans. Some choices you make in life are filled with regret." The news is bound to send shockwaves through the Mets fanbase, who still consider him one of the Mets' greatest players for his ability to get the big hit in the tight spot. Former Mets GM and baseball analyst, Steve Phillips, who saw Alfonzo climb through the ranks at the Mets told the Examiner: �It's always a hard position. You constantly hear rumors, but a lot of the time they�re just rumors. Most of the time you hope they're just rumors. It�s difficult with players from Latin American countries because birth registry requirements aren�t always strict.� At the start of the 2002 season Alfonzo was forced back to third base where he struggled on offense. As a result the Mets decided not to re-sign him for the next season. Phillips contends that rumors about his age were not a factor in the Mets not pursuing him. After he left the Mets, Alfonzo signed with the Giants to a lucrative 4 year/ $26M contract. There he struggled to capture the form that saw him help the Mets to the World Series against their more illustrious cross-town rivals. After the 2004 season the Giants traded Alfonzo to the Anaheim Angels for Steve Finley, who ironically was thought to be eight years older than Alfonzo at the time (but in reality is only four). However, because of injuries, Alfonzo's playing time at the Angels decreased until eventually he left the major leagues. Since then he played two seasons with the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League. He then left to play in Mexico, followed by a stint with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. However, his struggles seemed to follow him wherever he landed. Despite all of this, Alfonzo, who currently is a hitting instructor in the Houston Astros organization, is remembered as one of the best defensive infielders in the majors. He had a devout following of fans in New York known as the AAA, or the "Association for the Appreciation of Alfonzo". "Fonzie", as he is affectionately known, recalls how they would show up at batting practice with Venezuelan flags to draw attention to his under-appreciated talents. To those fans, he leaves the following words: �Feliz d�a de tontos de abril�. Something I'm sure they'll do.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Saladoc always believed this to be so and is today vindicated.

What's surprising to me is many such fakes were caught in the months and years after Septermber 11 as their IDs were crosschecked as they came in and out of the country, but he went back to Venezuela for winter ball and WBC training and never was outed.

Mexico, Japan... never caught.

[Frayed Knot]

Falling off the table like he did at age 32 makes more sense than doing so at 28 as it seemed.

[Valadius]

Doesn't change his baseball stats.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Can't help but wonder what else he might have been keeping secret back then. Kirk Rodamski prolly knows

[metirish]

It sucks in a way.....not surprising but it sucks.

[Gwreck]

Now properly adjusted for age, he actually had a pretty normal career arc and none of the telltale good-seasons-at-too-old-an-age sort of stuff that we've seen with a lot of those accused of taking the 'roids.

[Guest attgig]

Post this a day early???

[Willets Point]

There he struggled to capture the form that saw him help the Mets to the World Series against their more illustrious cross-town rivals.

What the fuck? Can't they just say "against the fuckin' Yankees?" Why does everything have to be a dig against the Mets and their puniness next to the Yankees?

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's really tiresome isn't it?

[smg58]

I always assumed he was three years older, like Ordonez. Like steroids, lying about age was done so much and with impunity that there were cases where you almost had to assume it.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Fonzie's former teams could sue him for fraud.

[Guest attgig]

is nobody else reading that last line, and translating the spanish?


�Feliz d�a de tontos de abril�

http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=%E2%80%9CFeliz+d%C3%ADa+de+tontos+de+abril%E2%80%9C&sl=es&tl=en#

[TransMonk]

WTF?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is that kosher to do this a day early?

[Willets Point]

The link doesn't work either and Google News comes up with nothing. Is this Second Spitter trying to pull our legs?

[TransMonk]

The first post in this thread would have been submitted in the wee hours of the April 1st morning in Sydney.

[metirish]

fucking classic if it's on us....

[Benjamin Grimm]

It translates to "Happy April Fools Day"

[Willets Point]

TransMonk wrote: The first post in this thread would have been submitted in the wee hours of the April 1st morning in Sydney.

More evidence against Spitter.

[seawolf17]

For what it's worth, I'd never heard of the "AAA" either.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Caught looking, here.

Hell of a backdoor curve, Spitter.

[metirish]

seawolf17 wrote: For what it's worth, I'd never heard of the "AAA" either.

this too but I just took it for granted that it was true and that Greg was probably on the board or something.....


this will be an all time thread if we've been had.

[TransMonk]

Willets Point wrote: There he struggled to capture the form that saw him help the Mets to the World Series against their more illustrious cross-town rivals. What the fuck? Can't they just say "against the fuckin' Yankees?" Why does everything have to be a dig against the Mets and their puniness next to the Yankees?

This turns out to be hilarious now! Well played!

[Willets Point]

TransMonk wrote: Willets Point wrote: There he struggled to capture the form that saw him help the Mets to the World Series against their more illustrious cross-town rivals. What the fuck? Can't they just say "against the fuckin' Yankees?" Why does everything have to be a dig against the Mets and their puniness next to the Yankees? This turns out to be hilarious now! Well played!

Well, it's those kind of details that made it believable.

[batmagadanleadoff]

He's a cheater -- and a liar, too.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I read that as "Happiness to all the stupid people of April," and I just left it as something I didn't get and didn't think again.

Amazin'.

[G-Fafif]

metirish wrote: I just took it for granted that it was true and that Greg was probably on the board or something.

I came thisclose to pulling out my all-time roster Word document and changing Fonzie's birthdate to reflect this new "reality" even as I also wondered how on earth he was 25 when he made his debut in 1995.

Everything about this is fantastic, right down to it being reported under a real AP reporter's byline via a San Francisco paper, the sleight-of-hand facilitated by the International Date Line, and, of course, that it was aimed at the only group of people in this world who would rend their garments over such a development.

Hitting instructor in the Houston Astros organization...brilliant touch.

Bra-fucking-vo.

[smg58]

Edgy DC wrote: I read that as "Happiness to all the stupid people of April," and I just left it as something I didn't get and didn't think again.

There's something very appropriate about that translation, though.

And of course, the best April Fool's jokes are the ones that are just believable enough.

PS How old is Sid Finch now?

[Guest The Second Spitter]

The funny thing is that I thought Edgy's first reply was onto me

What's surprising to me is many such fakes were caught [...].

Willets' response was great, but Gwreck's quasi-sabermetric analysis and Valad's arrogant dismissal had me laughing the hardest.

Hitting instructor in the Houston Astros organization...brilliant touch.

I tried to put together a Plimpton-esque line, similar to the one in the SIdd Finch article, something like " .... (a hitting instructor with the) Houston Astros, patiently preaching young aspirants, placid resilience, invalidating lefty fastballs over other ......" but I couldn't pull it off without drastically changing the prose of the article.

But I didn't make-up the part about the AAA, I got it from this article:
http://www.celebritygossip.com/celebrities/edgardo-alfonzo/

smg58 wrote: PS How old is Sid Finch now?

My reference to When We Were Kings at very beginning was a tip of the hat to Plimpton and Sidd Finch.