IN CASE ANYONE HAS WONDERED, EDGARDO ALFONZO STILL SWINGING THE BAT

The biggest surprise among all players with at least 10 at-bats in the recently-completed Caribbean Series had to be veteran infielder Edgardo Alfonzo.

Playing for his native Venezuela, the longtime star major league infielder and later an Atlantic Leaguer, he had the fourth best average of .364 (4-for-11) in the pitching-dominated series.

Listed at 38, Alfonzo is not believed to have played baseball in the United States in the summer since 2008 except for 26 games and a .154 average (12-for-78) for Newark in 2010. After his major league days, he played briefly at Bridgeport in '06 and was in a combined 164 games for the Long Island Ducks in '07-08. Alfonzo hit.329with a surprising eight homers and 27 RBI in 59 games in that second season and played briefly in Japan the next year.

FORMER NEWARK OUTFIELDER HITS .421

Another significant tie to the Atlantic League in the Caribbean Series was that of Dominican outfielder Pablo Ozuna, who led all hitters in the six-game set with a .421average (8-for-19). He hit .294 in 119 at-bats for Newark in 2010, the Bears' last season in the league.

Venezula's Cesar Suarez, an outfielder who played for Lancaster in '09 and Camden the next season, hit .360 (9-for-25).

We identified 29 players with Independent playing time, much of it in the Atlantic League, on the four Caribbean Series rosters.

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