Nymet31
02-15-2003, 02:08 PM
Marty Noble
February 15, 2003
Never a traditional 30-30 man during his tour with the Mets, Edgardo Alfonzo has reached that figure in a different way: 30 cabs and 30 days. The erstwhile Mets third baseman has said farewell, thank you and more to New York in a unique and appropriately New York way as he prepares to join the Giants for spring training.
Alfonzo and his agents arranged to have taxi-top billboards on 30 cabs for 30 days, beginning Friday. Each one carries Alfonzo's likeness and a Valentine's Day message: "Fonzi loves New York" and "Edgardo thanks you." He is pictured wearing an FDNY cap.
The cabs will be in use in Queens and Manhattan while Alfonzo trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his new team. It will be his ninth spring training.
When the Mets declined to offer salary arbitration to Alfonzo in December, thereby ending their relationship with him, he planned to express his gratitude to New York in newspaper advertisements. But after signing a four-year, $26-million deal as a free agent with the Giants, he and his agents decided on the cab campaign. "I wanted to do something different," Alfonzo said.
Chris Leible, an associate of agent Peter Greenberg and a former Mets employee, suggested the campaign. Leible's father, Michael, is president of Medallion Media, a company that sells ad space on cabs. "What's more New York than a taxi?" Leible said.
The 30 cabs for 30 days normally would cost $14,850 . . . a worthwhile investment, according to Alfonzo.
"I appreciate everything the fans in New York have done for me," he said. "They've always been behind me through the good and the bad. And I couldn't have done what I did without them."
February 15, 2003
Never a traditional 30-30 man during his tour with the Mets, Edgardo Alfonzo has reached that figure in a different way: 30 cabs and 30 days. The erstwhile Mets third baseman has said farewell, thank you and more to New York in a unique and appropriately New York way as he prepares to join the Giants for spring training.
Alfonzo and his agents arranged to have taxi-top billboards on 30 cabs for 30 days, beginning Friday. Each one carries Alfonzo's likeness and a Valentine's Day message: "Fonzi loves New York" and "Edgardo thanks you." He is pictured wearing an FDNY cap.
The cabs will be in use in Queens and Manhattan while Alfonzo trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his new team. It will be his ninth spring training.
When the Mets declined to offer salary arbitration to Alfonzo in December, thereby ending their relationship with him, he planned to express his gratitude to New York in newspaper advertisements. But after signing a four-year, $26-million deal as a free agent with the Giants, he and his agents decided on the cab campaign. "I wanted to do something different," Alfonzo said.
Chris Leible, an associate of agent Peter Greenberg and a former Mets employee, suggested the campaign. Leible's father, Michael, is president of Medallion Media, a company that sells ad space on cabs. "What's more New York than a taxi?" Leible said.
The 30 cabs for 30 days normally would cost $14,850 . . . a worthwhile investment, according to Alfonzo.
"I appreciate everything the fans in New York have done for me," he said. "They've always been behind me through the good and the bad. And I couldn't have done what I did without them."