The end of the line for Julio Franco ... now with Braves

[JimH5]

It was mentioned in the Henderson thread, but I'll give him his own.

 

Julio Franco was Designated for Assignment by the Mets today as they recalled Lastings Milledge.

 

Farewell Julio. . .yours has been a long and interesting baseball journey.

 

 

And with that roster move, I am now older than every single major leaguer on every single roster. This is worse than 20 years ago when all of Hef's playmates were younger than me.

 

(updated title -TC)

[bacon06]

Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse?

[jaybird2001wi]

I will always remember his short-lived stint with the Brewers back in 1998, I believe. I think the reason he came to the Brewers was to attempt to get revenge on the Indians for releasing him earlier and the Brewers were challenging the Indians for a possible playoff spot at the time.

[DocLuna7]

I will not believe that Julio Franco is done until he has sat out at least four years. I think I said he was done over a decade ago. Whoops.

[TCSM]

I remember reading something earlier this year that Julio will play till he's 50. Heck your two years away why not!

[bball123h2]

We don't really have a backup first baseman. Pick 'em up! Seriously, this guy was playing when I was born, a dang impressive career, at least in terms of longevity.

[jaybird2001wi]

Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP

+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+

1982 23 PHI NL 16 29 3 8 1 0 0 3 0 2 2 4 .276 .323 .310 77 9 1 0 1 0 1

1983 24 CLE AL 149 560 68 153 24 8 8 80 32 12 27 50 .273 .306 .388 87 217 3 6 1 2 21 RoY-2

1984 25 CLE AL 160 658 82 188 22 5 3 79 19 10 43 68 .286 .331 .348 87 229 1 10 1 6 23

1985 26 CLE AL 160 636 97 183 33 4 6 90 13 9 54 74 .288 .343 .381 99 242 0 9 2 4 26

1986 27 CLE AL 149 599 80 183 30 5 10 74 10 7 32 66 .306 .338 .422 108 253 0 5 1 0 28

1987 28 CLE AL 128 495 86 158 24 3 8 52 32 9 57 56 .319 .389 .428 116 212 0 5 2 3 23

1988 29 CLE AL 152 613 88 186 23 6 10 54 25 11 56 72 .303 .361 .409 114 251 1 4 4 2 17 SS,MVP-25

1989 30 TEX AL 150 548 80 173 31 5 13 92 21 3 66 69 .316 .386 .462 137 253 0 6 11 1 27 SS,AS

1990 31 TEX AL 157 582 96 172 27 1 11 69 31 10 82 83 .296 .383 .402 121 234 2 2 3 2 12 SS,AS

1991 32 TEX AL 146 589 108 201 27 3 15 78 36 9 65 78 .341 .408 .474 146 279 0 2 8 3 13 SS,MVP-15,AS

1992 33 TEX AL 35 107 19 25 7 0 2 8 1 1 15 17 .234 .328 .355 95 38 1 0 2 0 3

1993 34 TEX AL 144 532 85 154 31 3 14 84 9 3 62 95 .289 .360 .438 118 233 5 7 4 1 16

1994 35 CHW AL 112 433 72 138 19 2 20 98 8 1 62 75 .319 .406 .510 137 221 0 5 4 5 14 SS,MVP-8

1996 37 CLE AL 112 432 72 139 20 1 14 76 8 8 61 82 .322 .407 .470 122 203 0 3 2 3 14

1997 38 TOT AL 120 430 68 116 16 1 7 44 15 6 69 116 .270 .369 .360 90 155 1 4 4 1 17

CLE AL 78 289 46 82 13 1 3 25 8 5 38 75 .284 .367 .367 90 106 1 0 2 0 13

MIL AL 42 141 22 34 3 0 4 19 7 1 31 41 .241 .373 .348 90 49 0 4 2 1 4

1999 40 TBD AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0

2001 42 ATL NL 25 90 13 27 4 0 3 11 0 0 10 20 .300 .376 .444 111 40 0 0 1 1 3

2002 43 ATL NL 125 338 51 96 13 1 6 30 5 1 39 75 .284 .357 .382 95 129 2 3 3 1 13

2003 44 ATL NL 103 197 28 58 12 2 5 31 0 1 25 43 .294 .372 .452 117 89 0 1 5 0 8

2004 45 ATL NL 125 320 37 99 18 3 6 57 4 2 36 68 .309 .378 .441 112 141 1 3 4 1 10

2005 46 ATL NL 108 233 30 64 12 1 9 42 4 0 27 57 .275 .348 .451 105 105 1 3 1 1 10

2006 47 NYM NL 95 165 14 45 10 0 2 26 6 1 13 49 .273 .330 .370 84 61 0 0 2 1 11

2007 48 NYM NL 40 50 7 10 0 0 1 8 2 1 10 13 .200 .328 .260 62 13 0 1 0 0 1

+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+

23 Seasons 8637 2576 54 1186 107 1331 .298 .365 .418 111 19 79 66 38 311

2512 1284 404 173 281 913 3607

+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+

162 Game Avg 557 83 166 26 3 11 76 18 7 59 86 .298 .365 .418 111 233 1 5 4 2 20

Career High 160 658 108 201 33 8 20 98 36 12 82 116 .341 .408 .510 146 279 5 10 11 6 28

+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+

 

[sheetswannabe]

Played 24 seasons, didnt get 3000.. He is always going to be one of my favorite "that guys still around" type of guy..I bet he'll be back.

[davebobn]

What if he did get 3,000 hits? Would that automatically qualify him as a Hall of Famer? I don't think there are any guys out there with 3,000 hits that aren't in the Hall except Rose of course.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

"I don't think there are any guys out there with 3,000 hits that aren't in the Hall except Rose of course. "

 

Or this criminal. PERIOD.

 

http://www.profbob.com/images/Rafael%20Palmeiro%20best.jpg

[davego]

I clearly remember that 5 for 1 trade the Phils and the Indians pulled off. At the time the Phillies were declared the winner (Von Hayes being the best player they got back). Might have been the single best player moved made in Cleveland in the 1980's.

 

If this was 2002, Julio would be in Milwaukee tonight and hitting #2.

[uecker9]

I always liked the guys whose baseball cards required a magnifying glass to read. Julio is entering microscope territory.

[Invader3K]

I bet he gets picked up by someone. There's bottom tier teams that could probably see use in him.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

I just heard that the Braves are signing Franco, but I don't have a link.

[funkyplaidcoat]

I'm sure many of you have seen this but it's worth posting...even though Julio will be back in uniform in no time.

 

Julio Franco: A history in pictures

[jaybird2001wi]

The Braves did indeed sign Julio Franco for the remainder of the season. He is expected to be in uniform tomorrow for the Braves. Wow, he has 2,500 plus hits in his career. If he didn't play those years in Japan and in Latin America, he would be in the 3,000 hit club. You all think he could or would be in the Hall of Fame when his eligibility comes up?

[T B0NE 10]

he could make the hall of fame just for playing so long haha....thats quite an accomphisment playing till hes what 48....imagine a 50 year old pro baseball player haha

[JJHardy7]

Congrats to the guy...that's an amazing thing he's doing. I admit I haven't seen him play lately too much. Is he more of a PH or can he still play 1B alright?

[AdvantageSchneider]

I thought he played a few innings at SS earlier this season.

[And That]

According to Baseball Reference, Franco hasn't played SS in 20 years (!). At this point, I hope his run keeps going until he can't pick up a bat. A 50 year old major leaguer? Wouldn't that be amazing?

[jaybird2001wi]

I say that Franco should keep playing until teams no longer even give him a second look. If he can still be a role player somewhere and if he still enjoys it, why not keep playing until his heart doesn't desire it anymore?

[T B0NE 10]

this thread title says it all....the end of the line for julio franco -how many times do you think people of thought that...i thought he was done also, but then another team is happy to add him. but wouldnt you think bringing up a 20 some year old utility/pinch hitter would be better than a 48 year old?