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Saturday, May 03, 2008

Deadspin: Sadly, Julio Franco Cannot Play Forever

Julio Franco retiring?...I just looked it up and the night Franco broke in (Friday, April 23, 1982) I was at Maxwell’s contortin’ to The Love Tractors and The Raybeats…and due to lethal grogsumtion, I don’t recall either event.

One wouldn’t think that this would be classified as “news,” necessarily, but we still find it noteworthy, and kind of sad: Julio Franco has officially announced his retirement.

Well, we think so, anyway; the story has only been reported by the official site of the Mexican League, where Franco had been peddling his wares. And it’s all in Spanish. We tried translating it through Babelfish, but that wasn’t much help.

This Wednesday at the end of the second game of the series of Tigers in front of Oil tankers, the Dominican Frank Julio definitively announced to the feline director his retirement to him like active player.

After analyzing the situation with the family, the Dominican one ends a trajectory of 26 years like player in where it harvested I title of batting with the Rangers of Texas, more valuable player of American Liga in the 90, three star games and two titles of batting in Mexico.

Repoz Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:38 AM | 57 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. Dag Nabbit and his imaginary friends Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:52 AM (#2767610)

April 1982:

April 2: Argentina occupies the British Falklands
April 3: UK dispatches forces to reclaim worthless islands
April 5: Abe Fortas, former Supreme Court justice, once nominated as Chief Justice, dies
April 8: almost 200 arrested for plotting against Khomeini in Iran
April 13: David Crosby arrested when cops find drugs in his dressing room. Eventually he'll got to jail for it.
April 15: Billy Joel injured in motorcycle accident
April 20: Anti-Khomeini Iranian cleric declared unfit to be a member of high clergy
April 21: Joe Strummer goes AWOL, appears a few weeks later living shabbily in Paris. Causes tour to be cancelled
April 21: Rollie Fingers gets save #300
April 23: Julio Franco plays his first game.
April 25: Israel completes its withdrawl from the Sinai Peninsula
April 25: John Cody, long time Cardinal in Chicago, dies
April 25: Afghan rebels attack Soviet air base at Pagram
April 26: in South Korea, ex-cop goes on shooting spree, murdering 57 people
April 26: Rod Stewart mugged at gunpoint
April 30: Lester Bangs dies at age 33
April 30: Kristen Dunst born

2. SouthSideRyan Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:55 AM (#2767611)

I was not conceived yet when Franco made his debut.

3. CFBF Hates Hyphens Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:57 AM (#2767612)

I find this incredibly sad.

4. Frank McCourt's Gold Stars are in bankruptcy court Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:00 AM (#2767613)

April 3: UK dispatches forces to reclaim worthless islands
Until just now reading about this dust-up, I had no idea how out of date were the ships of the Royal Navy.
No over-the-horizon radar? Against fighters carrying Exocets? That's a bad match-up.

5. Frank McCourt's Gold Stars are in bankruptcy court Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:02 AM (#2767614)

Oh, yes - Mr. Franco, I can only tip my cap. A hell of a career and then some.

6. Raskolnikov Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:44 AM (#2767627)

Couldn't the Giants use him? I bet he'd draw more attention than anyone else they could put at 1B.

7. Voros McCracken, Human Shield Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:56 AM (#2767630)

I wonder what Von Hayes is up to.

8. Bob T Posted: May 03, 2008 at 05:03 AM (#2767632)

This article, also in Spanish, appears to confirm the story.

9. Pat Rapper's Delight Posted: May 03, 2008 at 05:23 AM (#2767648)

I went to a lot of Rangers games in Arlington in the late 80's and early 90's. Julio was always one of my favorite players to watch.

Any video analysts out there want to take a crack at how he was able to hit so well using such a contorted stance? I'll never understand how he got around on anyone, much less what he did to Rob Dibble in the 1990 ASG.

I'll always remember when he was taking a pitch -- particularly the first of a plate appearance -- while the pitcher was winding up, Julio would literally just drop the bat to his back shoulder and watch the pitch.

ISTR one of the Abstracts where James made the comment that Julio was one of the most intelligent players he had ever met.

I'm amazed Google has a pic of Julio as a Devil Ray. Pete-Rose-as-a-Montreal-Expo has nothing on Julio's tenure in Tampa.

If he goes until the HoF, will Joe Buck induct him as Julio FRANK-oh or Julio FRAWN-ko?

10. vortex of dissipation Posted: May 03, 2008 at 05:59 AM (#2767656)

Until just now reading about this dust-up, I had no idea how out of date were the ships of the Royal Navy.
No over-the-horizon radar? Against fighters carrying Exocets? That's a bad match-up.

Not when your fighters have a 28-0 kill ratio in air-to-air combat...

11. Frank McCourt's Gold Stars are in bankruptcy court Posted: May 03, 2008 at 06:18 AM (#2767659)

The Argentinian Air Force's anti-ship capabilities were about the only thing that went right for that nation's military.
Argentina got its first McDonald's franchise in 1986, four years after the war ended. I mention this because there has never been armed conflict between nations with McDonald's. Or so I have read.

12. JoeC Posted: May 03, 2008 at 06:54 AM (#2767667)

*sniff* Thanks for the memories, Julio. It was inspiring to watch you play for as long as you could. I'll remember him best for that 1994 season in Chicago when we thought it might all finally come together...

Definitely one of the short list of players whose stances we'd imitate in the back yard. We were too young for Morgan's back elbow, but we had Franco's corkscrew, Rickey's crouch, and Tettleton's tabletop bat. And a bit later there was Robin Ventura's closed stance (not that memorable, but hey, we were South Siders), Sheffield's waggle, and Bagwell's squat. At some point we saw a picture of Saduharu Oh's famous stance, and worked it in there too though we never got the hang of it.

13. Exploring Leftist Conservatism since 2008 (ark..) Posted: May 03, 2008 at 07:10 AM (#2767670)

Sadly, Julio Franco Cannot Play Forever.

Sadly, the New York Mets did not figure this out prior to the 2007 season.

14. Padraic Posted: May 03, 2008 at 08:56 AM (#2767675)

I mention this because there has never been armed conflict between nations with McDonald's.

That was Friedman's theory, though I'm pretty sure that ended with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Certainly miss Franco, but finally we can close the book on Mr. 5-for-1!

15. Misirlou's got a busy day, he's wearing a vest Posted: May 03, 2008 at 11:45 AM (#2767685)

Until just now reading about this dust-up, I had no idea how out of date were the ships of the Royal Navy.
No over-the-horizon radar? Against fighters carrying Exocets? That's a bad match-up.

Yeah, except Argentina at the time had a grand total of 5 air launched versions of the missiles. And thanks to superior British air power, the Argentine navy was never able to get within range with their sea-launched versions.

16. Belfry Bob Posted: May 03, 2008 at 11:51 AM (#2767687)

I watched Julio play in Cleveland - that was two wives ago.

17. bunyon Posted: May 03, 2008 at 11:52 AM (#2767688)

Argentina got its first McDonald's franchise in 1986, four years after the war ended. I mention this because there has never been armed conflict between nations with McDonald's. Or so I have read.

Special sauce indeed.

18. Swedish Chef Posted: May 03, 2008 at 12:14 PM (#2767692)

I don't think McDonalds was welcome in Milosevic's Yugoslavia, not that the hyperinflationary ecoonomy made it an especially attractive place to do business in.

19. AndrewJ Posted: May 03, 2008 at 01:01 PM (#2767701)

Julio began his professional career (with Butte in 1978) when Lyman Bostock and Thurman Munson were still in the majors, when Bill Veeck and Charlie Finley were still owners, when it was assumed all four of the Beatles might reunite. Before anybody had ever heard of National Lampoon's Animal House or USA Today or ESPN or Rotisserie League baseball.

20. Quiet Flows the Don Taussig Avenger (Edmundo)

Posted: May 03, 2008 at 01:55 PM (#2767729)

My wife became convinced that I knew my baseball, when I told her that Franco was going to be a star when we saw him in Reading. Fortunately, she has forgotten about my predictions for Rick Schu, Willie Darkis and a couple of others lost in the mists of time.

21. jwb Posted: May 03, 2008 at 02:06 PM (#2767737)

I'm bummed about this because there is now about zero chance that there will ever be a major league player older than I am.

Until just now reading about this dust-up, I had no idea how out of date were the ships of the Royal Navy.
No over-the-horizon radar? Against fighters carrying Exocets? That's a bad match-up.

Actually, many of the British ships had a very sophisticated electronic countermeasures system that allowed them to detect incoming Exocets and destroy them. None of the ships which had this sytem were damaged, a large percentage of those which didn't were. It was a combination of Doppler radar and a large caliber Vulcan/Gatling gun.

Argentina got its first McDonald's franchise in 1986, four years after the war ended. I mention this because there has never been armed conflict between nations with McDonald's. Or so I have read.

Not so. US/Panama, Israel/Lebanon, and lots of NATO nations/Serbia had McDonald's at the times of their conflicts. Thomas Friedman researches his articles about as well as Buzz Bissinger.

22. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: May 03, 2008 at 02:58 PM (#2767758)

Ron Kittle really did deserve Rookie of the Year then.

23. ChuckO Posted: May 03, 2008 at 02:59 PM (#2767760)

"I'm bummed about this because there is now about zero chance that there will ever be a major league player older than I am."

Just wait. You'll be even more bummed when you see the grandsons of players you followed as a kid playing in the majors. I had Ray Boone's baseball card as a kid, and he was the father of Bob Boone, who is the father of Bret and Aaron. Oh, yes, I was bummed when I first realized that.

24. AndrewJ Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:03 PM (#2767762)

The guy Julio and four other Phillies were traded for after the 1982 season, Von Hayes, had a decent-length career and retired sixteen years ago.

25. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:10 PM (#2767764)

The guy Julio and four other Phillies were traded for after the 1982 season, Von Hayes, had a decent-length career and retired sixteen years ago.

And Von Hayes is younger than Franco.

26. Frank McCourt's Gold Stars are in bankruptcy court Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:12 PM (#2767765)

Not so. US/Panama, Israel/Lebanon, and lots of NATO nations/Serbia had McDonald's at the times of their conflicts. Thomas Friedman researches his articles about as well as Buzz Bissinger.
And had I not posted just before going to sleep, I would've noticed the Wiki article addresses this:

The veracity of the observation itself depends upon a flexible interpretation of the term "war". Some conflicts that provide possible counterexamples include the 1989 United States invasion of Panama, the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the Kargil War along with ongoing skirmishes between factions of India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region. Furthermore, it could be argued that conflict between separatist groups that aspire to nationhood amounts to a type of warfare against what they consider to be foreign governments, thereby pitting the Basque region against the nation of Spain, for example. Additionally, the erstwhile practice of giving Declarations of War at the commencement of a conflict is not generally observed anymore; for example, the United States has not declared war upon another country since World War II, but unquestionably has fought several war-sized police actions since then. The appearance of McDonald's does not end an existing state of war: the states of Lebanon and Israel have been under a state of war since 1973, with South Lebanon occupied until May 2000 and a significant flareup in 2006, which did not hinder the establishment of McDonald's franchises in Israel and Lebanon in 1993 and 1998, respectively. However, neither country's army has fought each other since both countries have had McDonald's.

27. rLr Is King Of The Romans And Above Grammar Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:20 PM (#2767770)

Just wait. You'll be even more bummed when you see the grandsons of players you followed as a kid playing in the majors. I had Ray Boone's baseball card as a kid, and he was the father of Bob Boone, who is the father of Bret and Aaron. Oh, yes, I was bummed when I first realized that.

Played and retired, pal. You had the baseball card of a guy whose grandson has retired after a substantial career.

28. asinwreck Posted: May 03, 2008 at 03:57 PM (#2767784)

Will Rickey renew his attempts to come back? Now that Franco's retired, Rickey would be assured of being MLB's oldest active player.

Unless Minnie Minoso also comes back.

29. Richard Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:05 PM (#2767787)

April 3: UK dispatches forces to reclaim worthless islands

Reclaiming them was worth a lot to Mrs Thatcher and the Conservative Party's 1983 General Election prospects....

30. DCW3 Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:14 PM (#2767791)

I still think perhaps the coolest thing about Franco's career is that he played more games at shortstop than at any other position--and didn't play a single game at shortstop after 1987.

Definitely one of the short list of players whose stances we'd imitate in the back yard. We were too young for Morgan's back elbow, but we had Franco's corkscrew, Rickey's crouch, and Tettleton's tabletop bat. And a bit later there was Robin Ventura's closed stance (not that memorable, but hey, we were South Siders), Sheffield's waggle, and Bagwell's squat. At some point we saw a picture of Saduharu Oh's famous stance, and worked it in there too though we never got the hang of it.

Franco was Albert Pujols's favorite player when Albert was growing up, and apparently Pujols based his stance on Franco's. Pujols's stance eventually evolved into a more conventional one, but you can still see hints of Franco's stance in his.

31. Avoid running at all times.-S. Paige Posted: May 03, 2008 at 04:32 PM (#2767799)

raise your hand if you spent at least one childhood playground game imitating Julio Franco's stance.

32. Billy Ripken's Obscenity Bat (Soul Man) Posted: May 03, 2008 at 05:02 PM (#2767817)

raise your hand if you spent at least one childhood playground game imitating Julio Franco's stance.

I tried it in a little league game one time...opposite field single. Just like Julio would have done.

Sad to see him go, he's one of my all time favorites.

33. Maholm Shuffle Posted: May 03, 2008 at 06:03 PM (#2767862)

I wonder what Von Hayes is up to.

About 250?

34. Padraic Posted: May 03, 2008 at 06:19 PM (#2767879)

And Von Hayes is younger than Franco.

I didn't think facts about Franco could still amaze me but this does!

35. Boots Day Posted: May 03, 2008 at 06:34 PM (#2767893)

There still has never been a war between two nations that both have In-n-Out Burgers.

36. RMc's grumbling has gone far enough Posted: May 04, 2008 at 09:59 PM (#2768798)

Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him play at 50.

Oh, and here's one of my favourite trivia question: what American ship at Pearl Harbour in 1941 was sunk...four decades later?

37. Joe Bivens, Schmoo from Massachoosetts Posted: May 04, 2008 at 10:23 PM (#2768815)

Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him play at 50.

Maybe he'll make a comeback.

38. formerly dp Posted: May 04, 2008 at 10:26 PM (#2768818)

raise your hand if you spent at least one childhood playground game imitating Julio Franco's stance.

*raises both hands

Well into high school...

39. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: May 04, 2008 at 10:55 PM (#2768831)

raise your hand if you spent at least one childhood playground game imitating Julio Franco's stance.

I definitely did. He was actually kind of a favorite player of mine. My dad did a lot of business in Cleveland, and he started following the team, so I followed the team a bit, and we both became Julio Franco fans. When fooling around on the baseball field, I would mimic his stance, Dwight Evans stance (feet nearly facing each other), Mickey Tettleton's stance (bat held really low), and of course George Brett's (lean back).

40. AndrewJ Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:23 PM (#2768839)

Only nine of the 26 major league ballparks in existence when Julio Franco broke into the majors are still in use. After next April, only seven will be.

41. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:34 PM (#2768847)

Six degrees time:
Julio Franco was a teammate of Pete Rose. Pete Rose played alongside Joe Nuxhall. Joe Nuxhall played with Gee Walker. Gee Walker played with Wally Schang. Wally Schang played with Eddie Plank. Eddie Plank played with Lave Cross, who debuted in 1887.

42. Random Transaction Generator Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:37 PM (#2768850)

I'm amazed Google has a pic of Julio as a Devil Ray. Pete-Rose-as-a-Montreal-Expo has nothing on Julio's tenure in Tampa.

That is insane! He had ONE plate appearance. It's like catching a shooting star on film!

43. formerly dp Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:38 PM (#2768852)

Well, at least that's one thing that BTF people can come together on- no one's anti-Franco, right? He can be the peacemaker...

44. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:49 PM (#2768863)

Six degrees time:
Julio Franco was a teammate of Pete Rose.

So, in 2025, who is going to be the player who was a teammate of Julio Franco? Wright? Reyes? Milledge? Humber? Pelfrey? My guess is crafty veteran utilityman Anderson Hernandez.

45. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:50 PM (#2768865)

Well, at least that's one thing that BTF people can come together on- no one's anti-Franco, right? He can be the peacemaker...

Exactly. We know Julio Franco never used PEDs. As for fennel, burnt entrails, or leeches, that's a different matter.

So, in 2025, who is going to be the player who was a teammate of Julio Franco? Wright? Reyes? Milledge? Humber? Pelfrey? My guess is crafty veteran utilityman Anderson Hernandez.

An incredibly well-rested Mike Hampton?

46. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 04, 2008 at 11:54 PM (#2768870)

That is insane! He had ONE plate appearance. It's like catching a shooting star on film!

Not as astonishing as selling a game-used cap from a season in which the player played zero games in the uniform in question.

(BTF had a thread about this too, but I can't find it)

47. AJM Posted: May 05, 2008 at 12:06 AM (#2768881)

Well, at least that's one thing that BTF people can come together on- no one's anti-Franco, right?

I was only anti-Franco when he was on the Mets.

48. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 05, 2008 at 12:13 AM (#2768892)

As a Phillies fan, this announcement marks the first time I can be wholeheartedly pro-Franco since his blissful days with the Devil Rays.

49. Billy Ripken's Obscenity Bat (Soul Man) Posted: May 05, 2008 at 12:38 AM (#2768926)

Well, at least that's one thing that BTF people can come together on- no one's anti-Franco, right? He can be the peacemaker...

If only he had been born in the US...

50. formerly dp Posted: May 05, 2008 at 12:50 AM (#2768938)

I was only anti-Franco when he was on the Mets.

I was so pro-Franco, I even liked him when he was on the Braves...and I wasn't the only Met fan convinced when they released him that he was going to deliver the hit that sank them last season...

51. Nasty Nate Posted: May 05, 2008 at 01:51 AM (#2768987)

So many funny posts in this thread thanks guys.

whats funny about his 1 at-bat with the D-Rays is that it he was out of major league baseball for a year and a half before it, and he was out of major league baseball for a year and a half afterwards.

we should lobby baseball-reference to list all his professional stats (mlb, minors, mexico, etc..) on his main page, so that there is like 40 lines of numbers there

52. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 05, 2008 at 02:04 AM (#2768995)

It's got to be unusual to have two of your ten most similar batters by age have a similarity score of 0.

1. Jim O'Rourke (764) *
2. Minnie Minoso (751)
3. Deacon McGuire (597)
4. Arlie Latham (564)
5. Hughie Jennings (553) *
6. Jimmy Austin (420)
7. Charley O'Leary (157)
8. Gabby Street (6)
9. Jack Quinn (0)
10. Phil Niekro (0) *

53. willcarrollsux Posted: May 05, 2008 at 02:21 AM (#2769004)

This year's stats, including three stolen bases and one caught stealing.

This is sad. Someone please tell me that Rickey has not yet officially retired.

54. willcarrollsux Posted: May 05, 2008 at 02:23 AM (#2769005)

Ah, bugger. BBTF ate my HTML. Here it is unhtmlified:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Julio Franco&pos=1B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=212297

55. Dag Nabbit and his imaginary friends Posted: May 05, 2008 at 03:00 AM (#2769021)

Rickey did officially retire a few years ago. If it makes you feel better, he did it at a Hard Rock Cafe, of all places.

56. ess eff Posted: May 05, 2008 at 03:57 PM (#2769322)

Here's something I wrote at this site two years ago on the occasion of Franco becoming the oldest major leaguer to homer. I've updated a couple of the references:

Mimicking Bill James' famous homage to Phil Niekro . . .

Julio Franco is old.

He was a teammate of Pete Rose and Steve Carlton. Of Mike Schmidt, Mike Hargrove, Sparky Lyle and Tug McGraw.

The rookies of the year 27 years ago were Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Righetti. Franco is older than Valenzuela and Righetti.

Three of the last four World Series winners were managed by either Terry Francona or Ozzie Guillen. Franco is older than Francona and Guillen.

Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines broke into the majors in the '70s, terrorized opposing teams on the bases for more than two decades, seemed sometimes as if they'd play forever. Franco is older than Henderson and Raines.

Raines' son has reached the majors, as have the sons of Cecil Fielder and Jesse Barfield and the nephew of one-time Angel Dick Schofield. Franco is older than Jesse Barfield, Cecil Fielder and Dick Schofield.

Danny Ainge had a short baseball playing career, a basketball playing career and a basketball management career. Julio Franco is older than Danny Ainge.

Mets fans will recall the spark given to those '80s glory days teams by Wally Backman. Backman had a nice little mlb career, finishing up 15 years ago. Julio Franco is older than Wally Backman.

Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn had 20-year careers, finished their five-year waiting period for the Hall of Fame, and were selected together in last year's vote. Franco is older than both, and was older than the late Kirby Puckett, who had already been elected five years after retirement. Oh, and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg? Franco's older than him, too.

Remember the stars of the '80s? Don Mattingly, George Bell, Kevin Mitchell. Bo Jackson excited the nation in two sports. Franco is older than all of them.

Greg Walker appeared in the early '80s to be on the verge of stardom for Tony La Russa's White Sox. Franco is older than Greg Walker.

Alvin Davis, Richard Dotson, Jim Eisenreich, Todd Worrell, Mike Moore, Lloyd Moseby, Terry Steinbach, Joe Magrane, Jose Uribe, Brook Jacoby, Chris Sabo.

Franco is older than all of them.

And the funny thing is, he doesn't look a day over 70.

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Deadspin: Sadly, Julio Franco Cannot Play Forever

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