SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego State baseball star and Olympic standout Flavio Alfaro passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 27 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 59.
Alfaro played in 139 games at shortstop over two seasons for the Aztecs in 1983 and 1984, hitting a combined .342 with 16 homers, 104 RBIs and 127 runs scored. He also added 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases.
Alfaro enjoyed a phenomenal senior campaign in 1984, earning first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors to go with second-team all-District IX recognition after posting a .383 batting average with 12 homers, 57 RBIs and 76 runs. For his efforts, Alfaro was voted SDSU's Most Valuable Player that season and was later selected to the all-tournament team at the NCAA West Regionals in Fresno, California.
Following his collegiate career, Alfaro played for the very first U.S. Olympic baseball team that finished second at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles after dropping a 6-3 decision to Japan in the championship game at Dodger Stadium. Other notables on the American squad included Mark McGwire, Barry Larkin, Will Clark, Cory Snyder, Oddibe McDowell, B.J. Surhoff and Bill Swift, among others.
Alfaro was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the 1984 MLB First-Year Player Draft with the 99th selection overall. He played one year for the Braves' Class A affiliate in Durham, North Carolina, where he batted .193 with three homers, 34 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 110 games in 1985. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers organization prior to the 1986 season in a deal that included big-leaguers Rick Cerone and Ted Simmons but retired shortly thereafter following a contract dispute.
After baseball, Alfaro lived in Sacramento, California, working as a salesman and farmer.
Despite playing just two years for the Scarlet and Black, Alfaro still ranks among the Aztec career leaders in sacrifice bunts (T-6th – 24), sacrifice flies (T-14th – 11) and walks (14th – 91).
A native of San Fernando, California, Alfaro graduated from Poly High School and initially played at College of the Canyons, where he hit .361 and .369 in 1981 and 1982, respectively, garnering all-conference accolades before transferring to SDSU.