JEFF FRANCOEUR HAS RETURNED TO THE BRAVES.
I know I’ve said a ton of mean things about Jeff Francoeur in my lifetime. But I’ve also been very candid about how repentant I’ve felt for having said mean things about Jeff Francoeur.
All nerdy stupid baseball statistician number munching aside, Jeff Francoeur is a beautiful human being who embodies everything that’s right about baseball, and more important than being able to occasionally hit baseballs long distances, he gets it better than most, on how to treat other human beings.
Honestly, I know the Braves received a massive haul of prospects, and got Dansby Swanson from the Diamondbacks to hopefully anoint the future face of the franchise that hails from the Metro Atlanta suburbs, but frankly none of those moves or news announcements have lit a fire under my cold-dead baseball beating heart like the announcement of Jeff Francoeur coming home, signing with the Braves on a minor league deal.
It’s funny, because Swanson might be the future of the franchise, but the arrival of Francoeur is basically a template of a worse-case scenario of what his career could turn into, because just a decade ago, Francoeur was, basically what the Braves hope Swanson will become; a local Metro Atlanta product to become the face of the franchise, hit home runs, kiss babies, and always say the right thing in post-game interviews, all while leading the Braves to the peak of the mountain.
But as far as I’m concerned, who cares about Dansby Swanson, I’m excited for Jeff Francoeur. Like, serious excited. A minor league deal doesn’t guarantee him a spot on the major league roster, but considering just how terrible the Atlanta Braves are slated to be in 2016, I’m really hoping that when I head to Turner Field on opening day, that Jeff Francoeur is on the roster. I’d love to see him hit a homer for old time’s sake, and maybe for new time’s sake, when the Braves are getting slaughtered by 15 runs in a game sometime this year, Braves fans will get to see him pitch while wearing a Braves uni.
