Jeff Francouer, known as”Frenchy”, has played around. Starting off with the Braves for a while (2005 to 2009) and then the Mets, Rangers, Royals, Giants, Padres, Phillies, Braves again and Marlins.
His career started off great in 2005, but the end wasn’t as good for Francouer.
On the day that his Sports Illustrated cover came out, Jeff Francoeur learned just how hard the major leagues could be.
It was Aug. 22, 2005, and as Francoeur and his Atlanta Braves got ready to play the Cubs in Chicago, the then-21-year-old outfielder was being billed to the world as “THE NATURAL,” the first baseball player to get that treatment from the magazine since Ken Griffey Jr.
And why not? Starting with his major league debut on July 7, Francoeur had played like the second coming of Roy Hobbs: a .370 batting average, 10 home runs in 34 games, a starring role on a first-place team. A precocious rookie displaying uncommon power at the plate and brilliant defense in rightfield, the Atlanta-area native seemed to have the majors all figured out.
That night at Wrigley Field, Francoeur received an abrupt course correction when he stepped in against flamethrowing Chicago righthander Carlos Zambrano.
“He was throwing 99 to 100 [mph], [and] he struck me out all three times,” Francoeur said. “And I’m like, okay, now I see what some of these guys can do.”
Still, Francoeur had good stats from 2005-09 and deserves to be a highly ranked player for the Braves.
During his more than four years in Atlanta, he hit .266 with 78 home runs and 359 RBI. He also had 653 hits, with 129 of those being doubles, and he scored 310 runs.
Defensively, he won the Gold Glove in 2007 and had 65 total outfield assists in more than four years.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 21 | ATL | NL | 70 | 257 | 41 | 77 | 14 | 45 |
| 2006 | 22 | ATL | NL | 162 | 651 | 83 | 169 | 29 | 103 |
| 2007 | 23 | ATL | NL | 162 | 642 | 84 | 188 | 19 | 105 |
| 2008 | 24 | ATL | NL | 155 | 599 | 70 | 143 | 11 | 71 |
| 2009 | 25 | TOT | NL | 157 | 593 | 72 | 166 | 15 | 76 |
| 2009 | 25 | ATL | NL | 82 | 304 | 32 | 76 | 5 | 35 |
| 2009 | 25 | NYM | NL | 75 | 289 | 40 | 90 | 10 | 41 |
| 2010 | 26 | TOT | MLB | 139 | 454 | 52 | 113 | 13 | 65 |
| 2010 | 26 | NYM | NL | 124 | 401 | 43 | 95 | 11 | 54 |
| 2010 | 26 | TEX | AL | 15 | 53 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 11 |
| 2011 | 27 | KCR | AL | 153 | 601 | 77 | 171 | 20 | 87 |
| 2012 | 28 | KCR | AL | 148 | 561 | 58 | 132 | 16 | 49 |
| 2013 | 29 | TOT | MLB | 81 | 245 | 20 | 50 | 3 | 17 |
| 2013 | 29 | KCR | AL | 59 | 183 | 19 | 38 | 3 | 13 |
| 2013 | 29 | SFG | NL | 22 | 62 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 2014 | 30 | SDP | NL | 10 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | 31 | PHI | NL | 118 | 326 | 34 | 84 | 13 | 45 |
| 2016 | 32 | TOT | NL | 125 | 307 | 33 | 78 | 7 | 34 |
| 2016 | 32 | ATL | NL | 99 | 257 | 29 | 64 | 7 | 33 |
| 2016 | 32 | MIA | NL | 26 | 50 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 Y | 12 Y | 12 Y | 12 Y | 1481 | 5260 | 626 | 1373 | 160 | 698 |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 575 | 68 | 150 | 18 | 76 |
| G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | ||||
| ATL | ATL | ATL | ATL | 730 | 2710 | 339 | 717 | 85 | 392 |
| KCR | KCR | KCR | KCR | 360 | 1345 | 154 | 341 | 39 | 149 |
| NYM | NYM | NYM | NYM | 199 | 690 | 83 | 185 | 21 | 95 |
| SFG | SFG | SFG | SFG | 22 | 62 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| PHI | PHI | PHI | PHI | 118 | 326 | 34 | 84 | 13 | 45 |
| TEX | TEX | TEX | TEX | 15 | 53 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 11 |
| SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | 10 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| MIA | MIA | MIA | MIA | 26 | 50 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| NL ( | NL ( | NL ( | NL ( | 1105 | 3862 | 463 | 1014 | 119 | 538 |
| AL ( | AL ( | AL ( | AL ( | 375 | 1398 | 163 | 359 | 41 | 160 |
