John Franco, baseball player, 1984-2005

John Franco

Active Player

Born: 9/17/1960 in Brooklyn, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1984-04-24 | Final Game: 2005-07-01

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 170 lbs

Full name: John Anthony Franco

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Biography

John Franco, born in 1960, was a prominent left-handed pitcher who had a distinguished Major League Baseball career from 1984 to 2005. Renowned for his exceptional skills as a closer, Franco finished his career with a record of 90-87, an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.89, and recorded 975 strikeouts. His ability to secure leads and perform under pressure was evidenced by his remarkable 424 saves, which positioned him among the top save leaders in baseball history at the time of his retirement. Franco's career was marked by four All-Star selections, showcasing his status as one of the elite pitchers of his era. He played during a time when the game was evolving, with an increasing emphasis on specialization in the bullpen. Franco's tenacity on the mound and his crafty pitching style made him a fan favorite, particularly during his stints with the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds. His longevity and effectiveness in the role of a closer helped redefine the importance of relief pitching in the game, cementing his legacy as one of the most reliable and skilled pitchers of his generation.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
90 87 1119 0 0 0 424 1245.7 1166 400 81 495 975 2.89 0

Career ERA 2.89 vs. league average 4.23 across their career seasons — 31.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1984 CIN NL 6 2 54 0 0 0 4 79.3 74 23 36 55 2.61 3.81 (+32%) 1009.4
1985 CIN NL 12 3 67 0 0 0 12 99.0 83 24 40 61 2.18 3.89 (+44%) 1370.0
1986 CIN NL 6 6 74 0 0 0 29 101.0 90 33 44 84 2.94 3.97 (+26%) 1540.1
1987 CIN NL 8 5 68 0 0 0 32 82.0 76 23 27 61 2.52 4.29 (+41%) 2024.7
1988 CIN NL 6 6 70 0 0 0 39 86.0 60 15 27 46 1.57 3.73 (+58%) 1398.3
1989 CIN NL 4 8 60 0 0 0 32 80.7 77 28 36 60 3.12 3.71 (+16%) 1256.2
1990 NYN NL 5 3 55 0 0 0 33 67.7 66 19 21 56 2.53 3.86 (+35%) 1730.1
1991 NYN NL 5 9 52 0 0 0 30 55.3 61 18 18 45 2.93 3.91 (+25%) 1653.7
1992 NYN NL 6 2 31 0 0 0 15 33.0 24 6 11 20 1.64 3.75 (+56%) 648.3
1993 NYN NL 4 3 35 0 0 0 10 36.3 46 21 19 29 5.20 4.19 (-24%) -914.7
1994 NYN NL 1 4 47 0 0 0 30 50.0 47 15 19 42 2.70 4.51 (+40%) 1693.0
1995 NYN NL 5 3 48 0 0 0 29 51.7 48 14 17 41 2.44 4.45 (+45%) 1228.8
1996 NYN NL 4 3 51 0 0 0 28 54.0 54 11 21 48 1.83 4.61 (+60%) 2141.7
1997 NYN NL 5 3 59 0 0 0 36 60.0 49 17 20 53 2.55 4.39 (+42%) 2045.3
1998 NYN NL 0 8 61 0 0 0 38 64.7 66 26 29 59 3.62 4.43 (+18%) 1281.4
1999 NYN NL 0 2 46 0 0 0 19 40.7 40 13 19 41 2.88 4.71 (+39%) 1765.4
2000 NYN NL 5 4 62 0 0 0 4 55.7 46 21 26 56 3.40 4.77 (+29%) 1037.7
2001 NYN NL 6 2 58 0 0 0 2 53.3 55 24 19 50 4.05 4.42 (+8%) 151.2
2003 NYN NL 0 3 38 0 0 0 2 34.3 35 10 13 16 2.62 4.40 (+40%) -705.6
2004 NYN NL 2 7 52 0 0 0 0 46.0 46 27 24 36 5.28 4.46 (-18%) -401.1
2005 HOU NL 0 1 31 0 0 0 0 15.0 23 12 9 16 7.20 4.29 (-68%) 528.2

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1119 34 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 14 0.088 0.088 0.088 0.176 0.0

Career AVG .088 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 66.5% below league average.

Career OBP .088 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 73.4% below league average.

Career SLG .088 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — 78.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.176 vs. league average 0.740 across their career seasons — 76.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1984 CIN NL 54 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1985 CIN NL 67 6 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1986 CIN NL 74 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1987 CIN NL 68 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1988 CIN NL 70 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CIN NL 60 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1990 NYN NL 55 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1991 NYN NL 52 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1992 NYN NL 31 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1993 NYN NL 35 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1994 NYN NL 47 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1995 NYN NL 48 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 NYN NL 51 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1997 NYN NL 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1998 NYN NL 61 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1999 NYN NL 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2000 NYN NL 62 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2001 NYN NL 58 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 NYN NL 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 NYN NL 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 HOU NL 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2000 NLCS NYN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2000 NLDS2 NYN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2000 WS NYN 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLCS NYN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLDS2 NYN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 15 0 1 14.3 11 3 3 10 1.88

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2000 NLCS NYN 0 0 3 0 0 2.7 3 2 2 2 6.75
2000 NLDS2 NYN 0 0 2 0 1 2.0 1 0 0 2 0.00
2000 WS NYN 1 0 4 0 0 3.3 3 0 0 1 0.00
1999 NLCS NYN 0 0 3 0 0 2.7 3 1 1 3 3.38
1999 NLDS2 NYN 1 0 3 0 0 3.7 1 0 0 2 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 1119 0 63 234 11 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1984 CIN P 54 0 5 15 0 0
1985 CIN P 67 0 9 21 1 1
1986 CIN P 74 0 6 22 4 2
1987 CIN P 68 0 4 7 0 0
1988 CIN P 70 0 3 18 1 1
1989 CIN P 60 0 2 19 1 1
1990 NYN P 55 0 4 13 1 0
1991 NYN P 52 0 3 10 1 1
1992 NYN P 31 0 2 12 0 2
1993 NYN P 35 0 3 9 0 0
1994 NYN P 47 0 4 7 0 1
1995 NYN P 48 0 2 9 0 1
1996 NYN P 51 0 1 8 0 0
1997 NYN P 59 0 4 14 0 1
1998 NYN P 61 0 4 16 0 2
1999 NYN P 46 0 4 4 0 0
2000 NYN P 62 0 1 8 1 0
2001 NYN P 58 0 1 7 1 0
2003 NYN P 38 0 1 9 0 0
2004 NYN P 52 0 0 6 0 0
2005 HOU P 31 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1119

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2001 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1994 TSN Fireman of the Year
1990 Reliever of the Year Award
1990 TSN Fireman of the Year
1988 Pitcher of the Month July
1988 Player of the Week Week of 1988-07-29
1988 Reliever of the Year Award
1988 TSN Fireman of the Year
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-08-23

Featured In Rankings

#17
Top 20 Closers of All Time in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 17 of 20
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Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2005 HOU NL $700,000
2004 NYN NL $1,000,000
2003 NYN NL $3,833,333
2002 NYN NL $3,083,333
2001 NYN NL $3,583,333
2000 NYN NL $3,350,000
1999 NYN NL $2,950,000
1998 NYN NL $2,900,000
1997 NYN NL $3,000,000
1996 NYN NL $2,600,000
1995 NYN NL $2,550,000
1994 NYN NL $4,000,000
1993 NYN NL $4,000,000
1992 NYN NL $3,333,334
1991 NYN NL $2,633,333
1990 NYN NL $1,633,333
1989 CIN NL $1,067,500
1988 CIN NL $675,000
1987 CIN NL $300,000
1986 CIN NL $195,000
1985 CIN NL $75,000
Total Career Earnings $47,462,499

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
St. John's University Queens NY 1979, 1980, 1981

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1994 Cy Young Award NL 7th 2.0 140 0
1994 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 392 0
1988 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 23.0 336 0