Antonio Alfonseca (; ; born April 16, 1972) is a Dominican former

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He last pitched in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in . Alfonseca also played for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

(–, ), the Chicago Cubs (–), the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

(), and the Texas Rangers (). He is known for having an extra digit on each hand and foot.

Biography

Alfonseca was originally signed by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

as a non-drafted free agent in July . On December 13, 1993, he was taken by the Florida Marlins from the Montreal Expos in the 1993

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

. He made his debut during the 1997 season, and his rookie campaign saw him win a World Series ring with the Marlins. His best year was in with the Marlins, when he led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in saves with 45, and won the National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year. At the end of the season, Alfonseca had surgery to repair a

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

. Subsequently, the Marlins asked Alfonseca to lose 15 pounds to help to relieve stress on his back. At a weigh-in during spring training, Alfonseca had a confrontation with

Dale Torborg Dale Christian Torborg (born October 24, 1971) is an American baseball trainer and professional wrestler. In wrestling, he is best known for portraying the Kiss themed character, The Demon. He is the son of former Major League Baseball manager Je ...

, the son of then manager

Jeff Torborg Jeffrey Allen Torborg (born November 26, 1941) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball. Torborg was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1963. On September 9, 1965, Torborg caught Sandy Koufax' ...

, and a former professional wrestler. While the Marlins denied any connection, shortly afterwards, on March 27, 2002, he was traded, along with

Matt Clement Matthew Paul Clement (born August 12, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Clement played for the San Diego Padres (–), Florida Marlins (), Chicago Cubs (–) and Boston Red Sox (–). While on the Red Sox active roster, he ...

, to the Chicago Cubs for

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, and minor league pitcher Jose Cueto. On September 2, 2003, while with the Cubs, Alfonseca was thrown out of a game for bumping an umpire with his stomach. He was subsequently suspended for five games. After the season, he filed for free agency, and signed back with the Marlins, but in July , he suffered a right elbow injury and missed the rest of the season. He was released by the Marlins, signed with the Rangers, but after another mid-season elbow injury was released by them. He pitched for the Phillies in 2007 and for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

and

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League from 2009 to 2011.

Personal life

His nicknames are ''El Pulpo'' ("The Octopus"), ''The Dragonslayer'', and ''Six-Fingers''. He has six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, a condition known as

polydactyly Polydactyly or polydactylism (), also known as hyperdactyly, is an anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and/or toes. Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly (fewer fingers or toes). Signs and symptoms In human ...

. His grandfather also had this trait. Alfonseca regards it with pride, as a kind of family emblem. Alfonseca and his wife Rocío have two sons: Antonio, Jr. and Mark Anthony, and two daughters, Jenitza and Asia.

References

External links

Antonio Alfonseca
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Antonio Alfonseca
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonseca, Antonio 1972 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Bravos de Margarita players Bridgeport Bluefish players Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Florida Marlins players Frisco RoughRiders players Gulf Coast Expos players Iowa Cubs players Jamestown Expos players Jupiter Hammerheads players Kane County Cougars players Lancaster Barnstormers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers National League saves champions Oklahoma RedHawks players People from La Romana, Dominican Republic Pericos de Puebla players Philadelphia Phillies players Portland Sea Dogs players Texas Rangers players Toros del Este players People with polydactyly Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Azucareros del Este players Estrellas Orientales players Gigantes de Carolina players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

External links