The man must love to play baseball. For two consecutive seasons, Jeff Francoeur never missed a game. In Atlanta Braves jersey number 7, Francoeur played all 162 games of the 2006 season. Only three other Atlanta Braves players had done so in any season - Felix Millan, Dale Murphy and Andruw Jones. Next, Francoeur, called "Frenchy" by his teammates, turned around and played all 162 games of the 2007 season. In fact, he played in a total of 370 consecutive games before taking half a day off (the second game of a double header) in 2008.
Francoeur also loves to swing a bat. His first Major League hit was a home run. That happened on July 7, 2005, in the second game of a double header against the Chicago Cubs. But it took quite a bit longer for Francoeur to reach base on balls. He finally walked for the first time of his career in his 128th at-bat. Francoeur showed his stuff in as a right-fielder that year, logging 13 outfield assists for the season and placing third in baseball, even though he was not called up to the Majors until July.
These events happened when he was a "Baby Brave," one of a group of players called up to the Majors that year. Drafted by the Braves in the first round of the June 2002 free agent draft, Francoeur placed third in the voting for National League Rookie of the Year in 2005.
He continued his career through all 162 games in 2006 and then through all 162 games in 2007. In 2006, he joined that other guy in an Atlanta Braves jersey, Chipper Jones, representing the United States in the World Baseball Classic. In 2007, he led the National League with 19 outfield assists, a record that earned him the Gold Glove Award.
In 2008, Francoeur faced the worst slump of his career. With a .234 batting baseball in early July, he was optioned to Double-A Mississippi to work out his batting troubles. He spent only a few days there working with his old batting coach, Phillip Wellman. He was recalled promptly, however, when the guys in the Atlanta Braves jerseys faced a series of injuries. His performance continued to disappoint however, and he finished the season with a .239 batting average (down from .293 in 2007), 11 home runs (down from 19 the year before) and 71 runs batted in (down from 105 from the previous year).
With 2008 behind him, Francoeur spent the off-season working on fixing the problems. Texas baseball hitting coach Rudy Jamarillo worked with him for three days. They adjusted his batting stance, opening his position at the plate, to allow him to see pitches better and for longer. They worked on his patience, urging him to wait for a good pitch.
Francoeur took batting practice with his teammate, Chipper Jones, in January. Jones was so impressed that he was quoted as saying that he expected Francoeur to bat in the clean-up position for the guys in the Atlanta Braves jerseys before the 2009 season is over. Time will tell whether that prediction materializes, but it seems that Francoeur has made changes that should improve his performance and boost his confidence.
He heads into the 2009 season with a career batting average of .268, 75 career home runs and 326 RBI's. His 59 outfield assists top the Majors.
Kathleen Hobbins is a baseball fan extraordinaire. She grew up in Boston, where the Red Sox taught her to love baseball. She now lives in Chicago, where she can't choose between the Cubs and the White Sox. So her cup runs over with three home-town teams. Follow Kathleen on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/KathleenHobbins And to learn more about the Atlanta Braves, visit http://BaseballFanSiteOnline.com/Atlanta-Braves
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