Jeff Francoeur Debuts In Return to the Majors

That’s right friends, bacon-loving, $100 bill sending Jeff Francoeur is back in the major leagues.

The former 2005 Rookie of the Year candidate (3rd place) has hit well in Triple-A El Paso, hitting .295 with 15 HR and 60 RBI in 98 games, certainly good enough to earn the promotion. On top of that, with the suspension of Cameron Maybin, a roster spot cleared up. Great write up on our sister site Tomahawk Take here summarizing his Atlanta career.

It is a little crazy to find out that Jeff Francoeur is still just 30 years old. He burst onto the scene in 2005, leading the Braves to the last of their 14 consecutive division titles before losing to the Astros in the NLDS. He was able to eclipse the 100 RBI in 2006 and 2007, but his star quickly faded along with his good hitters eye.

Franceour was traded for Ryan Church in 2008 and bounced around to several teams. He showed glimpses of being very productive and then fell into deep tailspins of not hitting anything.

Of course Jeff Francoeur is more than just an extra outfielder and pinch hitter for the Padres. He pitched 6+ innings in the minors this season, and could help in some blowouts later this season depending how long he stays on the roster.

As the links in the first sentence alluded to as well, he is known for having a great time playing baseball. Shouldn’t we all? In 2012 in Oakland while playing for Kansas City, he had pizzas ordered for A’s fans. In the year before,  he had tossed a $100 bill and ball into the stands instructing them to buy bacon and beer. They had made “Bacon Tuesday” shirts and cheered him on when he came to play. Later that season, he threw a baseball with a $100 bill attached a note instructing his right field fans in home Kaufman Stadium to buy hot dogs and beer. Fun loving, right? For some reason, I don’t see the same love from Carlos Quentin.

Earlier this season in El Paso, he was the victim of a practical joke played on HIM by OF Cody Decker. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to.

Just yesterday, as news of his call up got sent out, another video was released and shows “Frenchy” on the other side of another joke.

So far so good for Francoeur. He singled and drove in a run in his Padres 2014 debut.

Jokes are always funnier when you are playing well. If Franceour can give a glimpse of what he once was and still can be, it could work out well as a nice feel good story for the Padres.

And if fans in the outfield get some pizza or bacon out of it to go along with craft beer options that Petco offers, who can argue with that?