WHY I THINK JOHN FRANCO SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK JOHN FRANCO SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

John Franco was one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time. His 90 wins in relief are one of the highest totals of all time, and his 424 saves are the most of any left hander. Franco tortured hitters with a fastball and a circle changeup with such a strange break to it that many thought that it was a screwball. John Franco began his Big League career with the Reds in 1984 and proved himself one of the top rookies in the game with a 2.61 ERA. He won an unheard of 12 games in relief in 1985 with a 2.18 ERA and saved 29 games in 1986. Across his first five MLB seasons, Franco saved 116 games, twice led the NL in games finished, and posted ERA’s as low as 1.57 in 1988. In 1989, the Reds traded their all time saves leader to the Mets, and he became one of the dominant closers of all time. In Cincinnati, the Reds used Franco about ten times per season as a middle reliever, but he was used more sparingly in New York. This seemed to do wonders for him, as he established himself as the best stopper in the NL. As late as 1999, Franco was one of the elite relievers in all of baseball, but as the turn of the century hit, things started to work against him. He pitched poorly in 2001 and missed all of 2002 with injuries. He had a bit of a renaissance season in 2003, but was ineffective the rest of the way. He hung up his glove in 2005 after a few innings with the Astros. John Franco was a great pitcher with fine skills and admirable longevity. Now that the Hall has started inducting relief pitchers, Franco has established himself as a legitimate candidate. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 1,119 season high: 74 in 1986 

Starts career: 0 

Complete Games career: 0 

Shutouts career: 0 

Games Finished career: 774 season high: 61 in 1988 led NL: 60 in 1987, 61 in 1988 

Wins career: 90 season high: 12 in 1985 

Losses career: 87 season high: 9 in 1991 

Winning Percentage career: .508 season high: .800 in 1985 

ERA career: 2.89 season low: 1.57 in 1988 

WHIP career: 1.333 season low: 1.012 in 1988 

Innings Pitched career: 1,245 ⅔ season high: 101 in 1986 

Strikeouts career: 975 season high: 84 in 1986 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 7.0 season high: 9.6 in 2005 

Walks career: 495 (78 intentional) season high: 44 in 1986 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.97 season high: 2.67 in 1990 

Saves career: 424 season high: 39 in 1988 led NL: 39 in 1988, 33 in 1990, 30 in 1994 

Fielding Percentage career: .964 season high: 1.000 in 1984, 1987, 1992-1999, 2003-2004 

Double Plays career: 13 season high: 2 in 1986, 1992, and 1998 

Putouts career: 63 season high: 9 in 1985 

Assists career: 234 season high: 22 in 1986 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .391 season high: 1.000 in 2005 

Pickoffs career: 17 season high: 2 in 1985, 1988, and 1998 

NOTE: I will be adding caught stealing percentage and pickoffs to the stat lines in pitchers and catchers, and will gradually add them to articles that I have previously published. 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-won Rolaids Relief in 1988 and 1990 (among relief pitchers, plus two points per win or save, minus one point per loss) 

-won the 2001 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 

-was a four time all-star (career all-star ERA - 0.00) 

-finished 12th in the NL MVP Award voting in 1988 and 20th in 1994 

-finished seventh in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 1994 

-was the NL Pitcher of the Month in July of 1988 

-won two NL Player of the Week awards 

-saved 30 or more games in a season eight times and 28 or more eleven times 

-went 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and a save in 15 career postseason games (11 as a middle reliever) 

-was the oldest pitcher in the MLB in 2005 

-ranks third in career games pitched, fifth in saves, and fourth in games finished 

-made the most pitching appearances of any pitcher in MLB history who never made a Big League start