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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. Pure Athlete website
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". 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. He won a Gold Glove Award in .
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. In 2005, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game before getting called up by Atlanta.
Francoeur made his MLB debut the following day when he started in right field against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader. 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. 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. 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.
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. Francoeur played in all 162 games for the second consecutive season. He was ejected for the second time in his career on July 16, 2007, exactly one year to the day of his first ejection.
On April 12, 2008, Francoeur went 3 for 5 against the Washington Nationals including two home runs and a career high seven RBIs. He compiled a streak of 370 consecutive games played before sitting out the second game of a doubleheader, on May 20, 2008. On May 22, 2008, Francoeur went 3 for 4 against the New York Mets with an RBI triple, an RBI single, and a two-run home run, finishing a double short of a cycle.
After weeks of being mired in the worst slump of his career, Braves management optioned Francoeur to Double-A Mississippi on July 4, 2008, to work with his old hitting coach Phillip Wellman and refine his swing away from the pressurized major league setting. Francoeur had posted a line of .234/.287/.374 to that point of the season. Francoeur was recalled on July 7, 2008, after only three days in the minors because of the rash of injuries suffered by the Braves, over the holiday weekend. His slump continued after his return to the majors; Francoeur posted a .234/.300/.324 line through September 10.
Francoeur made his Mets debut on July 11, 2009, and notched two RBIs in his first at bat. He finished the day going 2–4 with two RBIs, a strikeout, and was caught stealing once. On July 20, Francoeur hit his first home run as a Met off Washington Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing, during the ninth inning of that game.
On August 23, 2009, Francoeur became the second player in major league history (after Homer Summa in 1927) to hit into a game-ending unassisted triple play. He hit a line drive directly to Eric Bruntlett, second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Francoeur re-signed with the Mets for 2010.
After being the Mets' starting right fielder for the first half of the 2010 season, Francoeur was replaced by Ángel Pagán to make room for the return of Carlos Beltrán in the second half.
On August 18, 2011, Francoeur agreed to a two-year extension with the Royals worth $13.5 million. He was designated for assignment on June 30, 2013 after hitting .208/.249/.322 in 59 games with the Royals.
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 in third grade, he met his future wife, Catie McCoy. They started dating as seniors in high school, and married on November 3, 2007. Francoeur lived with teammate Brian McCann in Lawrenceville, Georgia for their first two years in the majors, and he had his own fan club at Turner Field called "Francoeur's Franks."
In 2007, Francoeur participated in a fundraiser for the Atlanta-based charity with his friend Carl Schuster Dream House for Medically Fragile Children in which Delta Air Lines donated the value of 25,000 SkyMiles (frequent flyer miles) for each home run hit by Francoeur during the season.
Francoeur is a vocal and outspoken born-again Christian. On the strap of his left batting glove, Francoeur has the phrase "" written, referencing the Bible verse.
Francoeur now hosts a podcast called "Pure Athlete"
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