So after one last uncharacteristic inning on a field he once dignified, Alomar spiked his uniform after a 17-year career. The game had simply become a blur to his eyes.

But the mind's eye trained on Alomar still glows with clarity.

It sees a superb talent, who swung a bat with force and wore a glove with grace and did it all with joy.

Saturday, he said farewell with a tear.

"I had a long career, but I can't play at the level I want to play, so it's time to retire," Alomar said in the camp of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, after a night's sleep couldn't awake him from reality. "I can't play anymore. I have no excuses."

"He gave me a little hint [Friday] night when we talked," said his father, Sandy, himself a former All-Star second baseman and now a coach with the Mets. "He said he didn't feel it any more. It's a little sad for me, but he has to make his own decisions. He has a lot of respect for the game and himself."

Alomar was barely 20 when he made a splashy debut with the 1988 San Diego Padres, his first of six teams.

His manager that first season was Jack McKeon, who two years later was the San Diego general manager who traded Alomar to Toronto in a blockbuster four-player megadeal.

"He was one of my favorite guys, there was no question about that," McKeon said Saturday. "He played the game well, with great instincts. I talked with him last year. He wanted to play until he got his 3,000th hit."

Alomar is a few weeks past his 37th birthday, but far more removed from his prime.

For 15 seasons, Alomar had been silk and iron. Smooth and durable. Between 1988 and 2002, he played more than 140 games 12 times. But the last two seasons, worn down by injuries, he humbly shuttled from team to team, batting .259 in 196 games, with nine homers and 12 steals.

"I knew I was done, but I tried it once more time this spring. I just can't go anymore," he added. "My back, legs and eyes aren't the same."

They never were the same as anyone else's. They were always better -- broader, faster, sharper. Especially among his peers at second.

Once Cal Ripken cast a new, more potent mold for the modern shortstop, second base became the offensively weakest link in the lineup. But not when Alomar played it.

According to Tony Bernazard, another outstanding former second baseman now in the Mets' front office, we had never before seen Alomar's kind.

"He was the best [second baseman] ever ... offensively, defensively, great instincts," Bernazard said. "A complete player ... he could walk, bunt, hit a home run, steal a base and beat you with his Gold Glove."

Alomar finished his career with 210 home runs, 1,508 runs, 1,134 RBIs, 474 stolen bases and 2,724 hits.

And a .300 lifetime average. Protecting that charmed round number may have influenced his decision to retire now. The lure of 3,000 hits is always strong -- but Alomar found the honor of that number stronger.

He also wished to leave before continued marginal play helped fade the brilliance of all of his feats.

"My life is baseball. It's been great," Almoar said. "I was like a little kid. I got to go to the ballpark everyday. I encourage any player who loses that enthusiasm to go home."

A 12-time All-Star -- every season from 1990 to 2001 -- Roberto defied categorization.

He earned 10 Gold Gloves as the best fielder at his position, and four Silver Sluggers as the best hitter. He ranked as high as second in steals (in 1993 with 55), third in average (.326 in 1993) and first in runs (138 in 1999).

Not too long ago, Alomar had exalted status in this game. A switch-hitting middle infielder who had all the tools, and the nerve to use them in the clutch. In 11 postseason series, with three different teams, he batted .313 with 32 runs and 33 RBIs.

He drove the Indians into the playoffs in each of his three seasons in Cleveland, the last two for manager Charlie Manuel.

"He was a Hall of Fame player while I had him," Manuel said, "and was a big part of our team when we won."

Alomar was on the fast track to Cooperstown. He awoke on Sept. 27, 1996 on top of baseball's world.

Then, in that day's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, while in a heated nationally-televised argument over a called third strike, he spat in umpire John Hirschbeck's face. Alomar's popularity shriveled.

Even at the end, Alomar felt the scars of that long-ago incident, saying Saturday, "I wish it never happened, and I hope that's not how people remember me."

In the end, Roberto Alomar doesn't deserve our spite for that one instant. He deserves our gratitude for all those years.