John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960 in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) is a former left-handed
relief pitcherA relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, ejection from the game, or fatigue...
in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
who played for three
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
teams from 1984 to 2005, primarily the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
. His 1,119 career
games pitchedIn baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...
are an NL record, and rank third in major league history; his 424 career saves ranked second in major league history when he retired, and remain the most by a left-hander. For 14 of his 20 seasons, he played for the New York Mets, serving as team captain in his final years with the team.
Franco grew up in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.
John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960 in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) is a former left-handed
relief pitcherA relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, ejection from the game, or fatigue...
in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
who played for three
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
teams from 1984 to 2005, primarily the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. The Mets are a member of the East Division of Major League Baseball's National League....
. His 1,119 career
games pitchedIn baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...
are an NL record, and rank third in major league history; his 424 career saves ranked second in major league history when he retired, and remain the most by a left-hander. For 14 of his 20 seasons, he played for the New York Mets, serving as team captain in his final years with the team.
Early life
Franco grew up in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. His father, the late Jim Franco, was a New York City Department of Sanitation worker who encouraged his son's baseball aspirations; Franco honored his father by wearing an orange Sanitation Department work-shirt under his jersey. John graduated from
Lafayette High SchoolLafayette High School is the name of many secondary schools in the United States, among them:*Lafayette High School in Lafayette, Alabama*Lafayette High School in Mayo, Florida*Lafayette High School in Lafayette, Georgia...
in Brooklyn and St. John's University in
QueensQueens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Five Boroughs which form New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a subdivision of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States.Located on...
, where he pitched two
no-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s in his freshman year.
Career
Franco was originally selected by the
Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The team is in the Western Division of the National League. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn...
on June 8, in the 5th round of the amateur draft. Before reaching the major leagues; however, he was traded to the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. They are members of the Central Division of the National League....
on May 9, with Brett Wise for
Rafael LandestoyRafael Silvaido Landestoy Santana in Baní, Dominican Republic) was an eight year major league baseball veteran who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers...
. Landestoy batted under .200 before retiring the following year while Franco was a star reliever for much of the next two decades. Franco debuted with the Reds on April 24, .
Throughout his six seasons with the Reds, Franco was a successful closer, winning the National League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award in . He helped the Reds finish second four seasons in a row (1985 - 1988).
On December 6, , at the age of 28, he was traded with Don Brown to the Mets for
Randy MyersRandall Kirk Myers is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who pitched from -, with the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays....
and
Kip GrossKip Lee Gross is a former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.Gross played for four different ballclubs during his career: the Cincinnati Reds , Los Angeles Dodgers , Boston Red Sox , and Houston Astros...
. He remained with the Mets organization until the end of the 2004 season. During his time with the Mets, he won the Rolaids Relief Award in , became team captain, and remained the closer until , when he moved to a setup role in front of
Armando BenitezArmando Germán Benítez is a relief pitcher for the Newark Bears in the Atlantic League and a former Major League closer. He is known for his once lively fastball, which in the past reached over 100 MPH, and his crafty splitter...
. He reached the postseason for the first time in 1999 and the
World SeriesThe World Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada since 1903, concluding the postseason of Major League Baseball...
in
2000The 2000 World Series featured a crosstown matchup between the two-time defending champion New York Yankees and the New York Mets, with the Yankees winning four games to one for their third straight championship and 26th overall. It marks, to date, the last World Series won by the Yankees, and the...
.
Injuries caused Franco to miss the baseball season, but he made a successful recovery from surgery and returned in June . He signed a one year contract for the season. He finished with a 2-7 record with 36
strikeoutIn baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters. Pitchers with a greater number of strikeouts are often praised, while batters with a greater number of...
s and a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings.
In January 2005, he was signed to a one-year deal with the Astros, at the age of 44, making him at that time the oldest active pitcher in Major League Baseball. On July 2, , Franco was designated for assignment, and he was subsequently released, which proved to be the end of his playing career.
Franco is among a handful of major league pitchers to utilize a
screwballA screwball is a baseball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider.-Effects:Thrown by a right-handed pitcher, a screwball breaks from left to right from the point of view of the pitcher; the pitch therefore moves down and in on a right-handed batter and down and...
. He also most recently appeared on the television show
Pros vs Joes.
On March 29, 2009, Franco threw the ceremonial first pitch in the first game played on Citi Field, a Big East college game between St. John's (his
alma materAlma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. In modern times it is ordinarily used to refer to the university or college a person attended...
) and
GeorgetownGeorgetown University is a Jesuit private university located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Father John Carroll founded the school in 1789, though its roots extend back to 1634. While the school struggled financially in its early years, Georgetown expanded into a branched university after the...
.
Career Accomplishments
- Pitching record: 90-87
- Saves: 424, 4th most in major league history behind Trevor Hoffman
Trevor William Hoffman is a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. A long-time closer, he is currently the Major Leagues' all-time leader in saves with 591, having broken the previous record held by Lee Smith on September 24, 2006...
, Mariano RiveraMariano Rivera is a Panamanian professional baseball player who has spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", the right-handed Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career...
and Lee Smith and the most for any left-handed pitcher.
- Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters. Pitchers with a greater number of strikeouts are often praised, while batters with a greater number of...
s: 975
- ERA
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. The ERA tells the average number of runs a pitcher would surrender over the course of a full game had he been kept in for the full nine innings...
: 2.89
- Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
: 1245⅔
- Games pitched
In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...
: 1119
- 4-time All-Star
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
(1986-87, 1989, 1990)
- Postseason record: 2-0, one save, 1.88 ERA in 15 postseason appearances
- New York Mets 3rd team captain (2001-2004)
- Inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit institution honoring exceptional U.S. athletes of Italian descent. Since its founding in 1977, more than two hundred Italians have been inducted into this Hall of Fame....
See also
External links