SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – In the next few weeks, as the San Francisco Giants get deeper into spring training, Edgardo Alfonzo knows the question will come up.
His teammates will sidle up to the third baseman and ask, “So, what is Armando Benitez really like?”
The closer every Mets fan loved to hate changed his address again this winter. The Giants, who struggled to find a closer last season, signed Benitez to a three-year deal after he spent last season with the Florida Marlins.
Alfonzo is one of the few players in the Giants clubhouse who know the moody 32-year-old well, so he expects some of his teammates to ask for a scouting report.
“He’s a hard-working dude,” Alfonzo said. “He’s a strong guy. He’s a quiet dude. He likes to win. We all know Benitez’s history with playoff games and stuff like that, but everything has changed. This guy’s been one of the best closers in the game in the last couple of years.”
The Giants are hopeful Benitez can continue the form he showed in 2004. He had a career year with the Marlins, posting 47 saves in 51 chances with a 1.29 ERA. But should the Giants find themselves in a pennant race come September, expect a few uneasy moments for their fans.
“I came here because we have a good chance of getting to the playoffs and the World Series,” Benitez said. “I want to be a help. I want to do my job and help us win games.”
The Mets traded Benitez to the Yankees in the middle of the 2003 season after 4 ½ rocky years at Shea. Though he always put up big save numbers, he usually found a way to blow a few crucial games down the stretch. Despite his tumultuous relationship with the fans and media in New York, Benitez said he has no bitterness.
“I don’t have anything bad to say about New York,” Benitez said. “They gave me an opportunity.”
Alfonzo and Benitez spent about an hour Monday chatting in a back room of the Giants clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium. Alfonzo said he hopes Giants fans give his old friend a chance.
“It’s tough when people start to say bad stuff about you,” Alfonzo said. “That’s what happened to Armando. People that trashed him don’t know him. It’s not good. He’s a really easy guy . . . you can get into his mind easily.”
