Jeff Francoeur

Jeffrey Braden Francoeur (born January 8, 1984), nicknamed "Frenchy", is an American former professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins.

When his playing days ended, he became a broadcaster; Francoeur is currently one of the lead television analysts for Atlanta Braves games, as well as doing various work for TBS.

He also hosts a podcast called "Pure Athlete" that serves as a resource for coaches, parents, and kids going through the process of youth athletics.

He led Parkview to the Georgia 5A high school football championships in 2000 and 2001 as a wide receiver and defensive back.

He also led Parkview to two state titles in baseball in 2001 and 2002.

Francoeur was inducted with the inaugural class of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame in October 2022.

Francouer graduated from Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia in 2002.

He lettered in both baseball and football.

Francoeur was offered a scholarship to play wide receiver for the Clemson Tigers, before turning that down and getting drafted in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2002 MLB draft.

Francoeur was selected by the Braves in the first round of the June 2002 MLB draft.

A 4-star defensive back committed to Clemson, he chose to forego college to play baseball.

After the draft, Francoeur was assigned to the team's advanced Rookie League club in Danville, Virginia, where he played 38 games and hit .327 with 8 home runs and 31 RBIs.

Francoeur advanced steadily through the Braves minor league system, playing for Rome (Low A) in 2003, Myrtle Beach (High A) and Greenville (former AA) in 2004, and Mississippi (AA) in 2005.

Francoeur was a member of the Rome Braves inaugural season team which went on to win the 2003 South Atlantic League Championship.

He led that team in home runs with 14.

In 2004, Francoeur was named the top prospect in the Braves organization by Baseball America.

He was a member of the Carolina League regular season and postseason All-Star team.

A mid-season call-up for the Braves in 2005, he played in slightly fewer than half of his team's games that year and finished the season with impressive enough statistics to finish third in Rookie of the Year voting and a Sports Illustrated cover story declaring him "The Natural".

In 2005, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game before getting called up by Atlanta.

Francoeur was promoted by Atlanta on July 6, 2005.

He was part of a group of rookie players, nicknamed the "Baby Braves", that Atlanta called up from its minor league system during the 2005 season.

Francoeur made his MLB debut the following day when he started in right field against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a double header.

In the bottom of the eighth inning he hit a 3-run homer to center field, his first Major League hit.

Francoeur is famous for his promise at the very beginning of his career: he made the cover of the edition of August 26, 2005 of Sports Illustrated, who dubbed him "The Natural" after he hit .360 with a 1.067 OPS in his first 37 games.

Francoeur finished the season batting .300/.336/.549 in 67 games, with 14 home runs, and 44 RBIs.

Francoeur was ejected for the first time in his career on July 16, 2006.

On May 13, 2006, Francoeur hit a walk-off grand slam off Chad Cordero of the Washington Nationals, the first walk-off home run and grand slam of his career.

He won a Gold Glove Award in 2007.

In his second full season in 2007, Francoeur batted .293, with 19 homers, and 105 RBIs.

Francoeur also displayed talent on the defensive side of the field, leading the league in outfield assists with 19 while earning his first career Gold Glove.

During his rookie season he garnered a reputation as a free swinging fastball hitter, with his first walk not coming until his 128th plate appearance.

On defense, Francoeur became known for having a strong and accurate arm, finishing the season with 13 outfield assists (third overall in MLB) despite playing less than half the season.

He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting while garnering the most second place votes.

Francoeur hit .260 with 29 homers and 103 RBIs in his first full season in the majors.

He also became just the fourth Brave to play in all 162 games of a season, joining Félix Millán, Dale Murphy, and Andruw Jones.

In March 2014, after he was released by the Cleveland Indians, Francoeur signed with the San Diego Padres and was sent to the El Paso Chihuahuas in Triple A. Francoeur's new teammates played an elaborate month-long prank on him by convincing him that pitcher Jorge Reyes was deaf.

Reyes cooperated with the prank, maintaining the appearance of being deaf by not speaking or listening to music.

Chihuahuas first baseman/outfielder Cody Decker made a short film about the prank.

While he never again had similarly strong statistics, he continued to have a productive career, playing for 11 more seasons as a journeyman outfielder for seven more teams before retiring after a short stint with the Marlins in 2016.

Throughout his career, Francoeur was noted for his strong throwing arm in the outfield and his free-swinging tendencies in the batter's box.