Head Florida Memorial University baseball coach Florentino Burgos announced that former Major League reliever and Miami Marlins all-star closer, Antonio Alfonseca will be joining his coaching staff next season. Alfonseca spent eleven years playing in the Majors.
Alfonseca will join Coach Burgos in his third season with the Lions, fresh off its outstanding season finishing third in the Sun Conference for the first time in school history. During the regular season, his team knocked off three top-ranked conference rivals, including the NAIA national champions.
The Lions are excited to have Alfonseca join the baseball staff for the upcoming season. His experience at the MLB level will be vital to the team’s success moving forward and help take the next step as a program.
He last pitched in the Major Leagues for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. Alfonseca also played for the Florida Marlins (1997–2001, 2005), the Chicago Cubs (2002–2003), the Atlanta Braves (2004), and the Texas Rangers (2006).
Alfonseca will bring his toughness to the team as the pitching coach. The former MLB reliever was an all-star with the Marlins in 2000.
Alfonseca was signed by the Montreal Expos as a free agent in July 1989. He was taken by the Florida Marlins from the Montreal Expos in the 1993 expansion draft. His best year was in 2000 with the Marlins, when he led the National League in saves with 45, and won the National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year. Alfonseca was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 17, 1997 with the Marlins.