Francoeur needs to take a hint or he’ll go nowhere in career
Let me start by saying that for as much as he was ridiculed and lampooned during his spectacular crash with the Braves — and later in his many miserable months as a New York Met — former hometown hero Jeff Francoeur is one of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet. He’s one of the finest all-around athletes you’re going to find in baseball, or any pro sport.
But one day in the midst of Francoeur-mania here in Atlanta, when the lower profile of the Braves’ two whiz kids, Brian McCann, was just starting to ascend, hitting coach Terry Pendleton said something to me: “I think we’ve all been paying attention to the wrong guy.”
Francoeur, once projected to be a franchise staple in right field for the Braves, like Dale Murphy, was traded for the second time in 13 months Tuesday night when the Mets dealt him to the Texas Rangers. He is a perfect illustration of how talent, energy and effort doesn’t guarantee success. He was hitting only .237 with the Mets, after actually having a career rebound following the trade to New York in July of 2009 (hitting .311 after starting the year .250 with the Braves).
Francoeur is still young enough (26) and certainly talented enough to have a solid career. But he has two significant problems he needs to fix:
♦ 1.) He’s hard-headed. He’s immature. For as good a guy as he is, he had a difficult time taking advice from Braves teammates and coaches. He never learned patience. The result was him trying to battle out of a slump himself. He pressed. Daily. Baseball can afford a hitter four chances a night and 24 to 28 in a week to break out of a slump. But that’s also more opportunities to go borderline psycho if an athlete doesn’t handle situations correctly. Francoeur didn’t handle things correctly. He opted for psycho.
♦ 2.) Francoeur’s representation has been poor. Baseball players don’t have salary leverage early in their careers. They must take what teams give them and wait until arbitration rights come around. McCann and his agent did so without a peep. Then in 2007, the Braves gave him a six-year contract. Conversely, Francoeur received bad advice from his agent, Molly Fletcher. They were unhappy with the Braves’ annual offers. Braves’ management rolled their eyes.
Then a few weeks ago, when Francoeur was being platooned, Fletcher actually requested a trade from the Mets, telling the Newark Star-Ledger: “We want to play every day.”
You want to make your client look bad real quick? Request a trade when he’s in a 15-for-88 slump.
Francoeur’s career is dropping parts on the highway. It’s not what anybody envisioned when he appeared on the Sports Illustrated cover five years ago this week. But guys labeled, “The Natural,” generally have more than talent.
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175 comments Add your comment
North Gwinnet #2
September 1st, 2010
2:58 pm
Tift talks it every year. Their reputation has dwindled ever since they sent Pablo Machado to GT in the 90’s and that reputation continued with Frenchy’s performance
Needabailout,too!
September 1st, 2010
3:14 pm
“…..He is a perfect illustration of how talent, energy and effort doesn’t guarantee success.” You left out ‘Dreamboat’!
74 Dawg
September 1st, 2010
3:22 pm
Spot on with this one Jeff. Hopefully someone close to Frenchy will have this same conversation with him. Hopefully this time he will listen.
SF Brave
September 1st, 2010
3:22 pm
Francouer actually reminds me of Yunel, which may seem like a strange comparison because one always seemed to have the “right” attitude while the other had the wrong one. But when it comes down to it, they both are approaching their late 20s but still play like they are 19– stubbornly relying on raw talent instead of working to adapt and impove their games to compete in the major leagues.
Melky way
September 1st, 2010
3:26 pm
If he is hard headed in the game of baseball what makes you think that he would not be hard headed football? In football you really have to follow instuctions.
Wanda
September 1st, 2010
3:30 pm
Why is it when ball players get married they seem to forget how to play?
Melky way
September 1st, 2010
3:40 pm
To the point I do think that a catcher has an advantage than any other position player,with them behind the plate and calling a game with their own pitcher.with that said i think that Mac is a true student of the game.He is always trying to learn new things about the game.Jeff,not so much.I will watch Brians reactions when he has a bad at bat he will have a look on his face like,next time I will do something else.The man takes it all in.you will not get him out next time.He is a Baseball player!
Chris
September 1st, 2010
4:25 pm
I was waiting for Kermit the Frog to write an article on Francoeur the minute I heard he was traded. Dude has a personal beef with him for some reason.
john galt
September 1st, 2010
5:08 pm
The worst thing that could have happened to Jeff was that “The Natural” thing on SI. The guy already acted like he was the BMOC and god’s gift to baseball. I am sure he started counting down to Cooperstown after that.
Look at how he handled his 3-day demotion to Mississippi. Despite more than a month of speculation and the chnace to turn it around, he was shocked that the Braves would not just bench him, but send him down. And he ranted and outed like a little baby.
The irony is that BMac turned out so strong – he’s the Anti-Frenchy in every way.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
September 1st, 2010
5:56 pm
Tough break for Frenchy that Designated Fielders don’t exist.
Navigator
September 1st, 2010
6:51 pm
I wrote earlier about his uncoachable issues, but I never said he didn’t have talent. He need to get away from his surroundings and parents and grow up some. When he’s ready and willing, someone will turn his career around, don’t forget that Reggie Jackson (a guy that had a marvelous career), also had a lot of problems at the beginning, before Oakland turned him around (3 world series championships later, he was Mr. October). Then he went to New York with the Billy Martin circus and almost got lost again, before maturing.
rugburn
September 1st, 2010
9:32 pm
joe charbonneau could open beer bottles in his eye socket. unfortunately he had a very bad back (not good when you torque like he did at the plate)
CA
September 2nd, 2010
3:06 am
Francoeur should have been humbled when he got benched on a below average Mets team. If that doesn’t motivate him, I don’t know what will. He has the talent, just not the focus.
Rudy Jaramillo, the hitting coach he went to a couple of
winters ago, is now with the Cubs as of this year.
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big mack attack
September 2nd, 2010
11:46 am
Everybody on here would jump over their mother to get Jeffs autograph/shake his hand/pat him on back if they saw him @ Home Depot or the grocery store.
To The Francouers: Jeff is and always a fanrtastic person,and player.
Best Wishes to him and the family.
Real fans want him to succeed.
Good luck Frenchy!
Katzman
September 2nd, 2010
3:59 pm
Didn’t Andruw Jones have the same problem? He has never lived up to what he could have become. His great fielding ability was all that kept him in the game.
kirkinga
September 3rd, 2010
3:44 am
I think it’s interesting how everyone wants to blame the “female agent”. The fact is that she, like any other agent, is an employee and works for the person she represents.
I think she is just reflecting his wishes , and based on some of their comments, Francouer’s parents’ wishes as well. I believe they had, or maybe continue to exert, great influence upon Francouer and how he views his situation.
There is also a bit of player hating going on as well. Francouer thought his value was more than what the Braves had in mind. This happens all the time but it doesn’t necessarily make him a bad guy. As it turned out, he did the Braves a favor by not working out something long term and then proceeded to play his way off two teams.
He’s a local kid and it’s ashame that people wish to remember him only for the negative aspects of his time with the Braves. The truth is that he , for a time, help make the Braves relevant again. Too bad we never got to see the local dream outfield of Francoueer, Schafer, and Heyward.
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September 3rd, 2010
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[...] ♦ Francoeur needs to take a hint or he’ll go nowhere in career [...]
dawg football fan
September 3rd, 2010
10:58 am
Jeff has a great arm….maybe he can use it to pull his head out of his a**
Go Bravos
September 3rd, 2010
8:32 pm
During Jeff’s exciting first season I was talking to my friend’s dad who was an ex major league pitcher. I asked him what he thought about Jeff’s early success and his reaction told me a lot. He quite calmly said what he’s done is impressive but it doesn’t mean a whole lot. The real tell is how he adjusts when teams learn how to pitch to him (meaning his second year). Great call. I guess we all know how that turned out. Sad to see but definitely wish him the best of lucky. Not too late to turn his career around.
Rob
September 3rd, 2010
10:30 pm
I’ve wondered if promoting Francoeur from AA to the majors ahead of schedule was a good idea in the long run. Would an extra half season at AA and a full season at AAA have helped his development and made him a more disciplined hitter with a better idea of the strike zone?
Scott from Fairburn
September 4th, 2010
8:30 am
The beginning of the end when Jeff and his representation began focusing on his brand:
“The job of cashing in on Francoeur’s image belongs to Career Sports’ Molly Fletcher. Fletcher calls him “an amazing, well-rounded individual who is a great athlete.”
“Our focus when we think about aligning a brand is that we want it to be an extension of his value system,” she said.
She described Francoeur as a “local hero” and “an all-American guy” who is “very, very smart and very likable and transcends gender and ethnicities.”
She said Francoeur is as marketable to a 23-year-old man as he is to a 55- or 65-year-old woman. Fletcher’s strategic plan for Francoeur is to find “brands and companies that we want to be with for a long time” that can “grow together like marriages.”
Read Francoeur Eager to Pitch for Companies May 2008
delois
September 4th, 2010
11:56 pm
Why now write something about Charlie Blackmon from North Gwinnett, who played great at Tech and is working his way up the Rockies organization? Not only is he a good player, he’s smart and he’s a really nice person. Enough about Francoeur.
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