Just when I’m ready to hate on Jeff for posting a .511 OPS this month, he does something like this to TOTALLY REDEEM himself.

You know what, I'll go ahead and admit it: Jeff Francoeur is one of my favorite major-league baseball players. My son's autistic, so this hits close to home, but even before this, Francoeur seems to really enjoy being a major-league baseball player and really enjoy interacting with fans. Would I want him playing the outfield for my favorite team? Probably not - although he's cheaper than Soriano. But even if his pitch recognition skills are as bad as mine, I'm glad he's in major-league baseball.

Going to large stadiums that are really loud are out of my sons comfort zone, we told him we were going to see the KC Royals and he was instantly excited….

I laughed.

Yeah, Frenchy might be a bit of a camera hound/media schmoozer, but even that is not too pronounced, and you do hear about him doing things that clearly were not for show. I'm sure he's a good guy.

Going to large stadiums that are really loud are out of my sons comfort zone, we told him we were going to see the KC Royals and he was instantly excited….

Heh, that is good. The Mets recently asked their Twitter followers whether there should be a "quiet" section of the stadium for those with autism. Kinda surprised it wasn't printed here as a ####-stirrer ;-)

The Mets recently asked their Twitter followers whether there should be a "quiet" section of the stadium for those with autism

Would it have no obnoxious music from the speakers? Can I sit there?

Sigh...

I give up - Frenchy has simply done too many things like this for me to continue my membership in the BBTF Frenchy pinata club.

It was fun while it lasted, but I guess I have to say that I'm out...

Sign me up for the quiet section, as well. Not just at the ballgame, but on earth in general.
Frenchy seems to have left a reputation as a good guy everywhere he's played.

The Mets recently asked their Twitter followers whether there should be a "quiet" section of the stadium for those with autism.

At 67% capacity, it appears large parts of the stadium are already that way.

Didn't Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract have a decade-by-decade "Better Man than Player?" If so, yeah, Frenchy.

Totally agree with all the Frenchy love. And honestly, now that there aren't AJC pieces about him every few days, I kinda forget why all the negativity in the first place. I'll admit there was a period where I rooted against him, possibly out of nothing more than snide smart-pants sabrier-than-thou spite, but even taking into account the PR value of stuff like this he seems like a genuinely good dude. The fantasy football jocularity in the locker room vid was pretty entertaining, too.

The KC media is kinda obnoxious with the Frenchy love. When this story came out, I read comments from reporters like, "why are they thinking of trading this guy????" Frenchy is not really the problem, its reporters that think his nice guy attitude and more importantly his media accessability should make up for his offensive liabilities.

The KC media is kinda obnoxious with the Frenchy love.

You may have noticed that the press of EVERY city he plays in is big into Frenchy love. I think that's because Francoeur is a genuinely lovable guy -- it's not just the "media accessibility" (which cynical journalists are capable of seeing past, even as they take advantage of it) but the vast number of stories of his on- and off-field kindnesses to fans, hecklers (!), and random folks. It just seems to be who he is as a person.

Whoever said that Francoeur was cruising for the '00s/'10s Bill James "Better Man Than Player" award nailed it.

BourbonSamurai in America Posted: June 22, 2012 at 04:42 PM (#4163984)
The Mets recently asked their Twitter followers whether there should be a "quiet" section of the stadium for those with autism


Would it have no obnoxious music from the speakers? Can I sit there?

- i would join you there too.

the best games of the year (these days) are the 3 games at the Box just before the season starts - no noise, no kiss cam, none of that loud whatever in between innings. and no stupid sauce packet races. it's nice to be able to talk to someone without yelling

of course this means you hafta hear guys talking about their golf game and grrls talking about their stupid men

- i suppose they make it nonstop really loud because it must make them more money, not sure how unless it is that people go inside the concourses to escape and then they buy food

I never thought the old Frenchy threads were all that negative toward Francoeur. It was just enjoying the experience of a middling player constantly being treated like a superstar, plus the sideshow of his Delta blog. I always rooted for Francoeur to unexpectedly fulfill the expectations the AJC had for him. He was never quoted as saying anything more controversial than "I've got a new approach at the plate and I feel optimistic about this year." Surely it's okay to smile at that being said for three straight years.

I never thought the old Frenchy threads were all that negative toward Francoeur."

He got a lot of negative buzz here when he said something like "If OBP is so important, why don't they show it on the scoreboard?"

I also always got the sense that Francoeur looked like he should have been a better player. He showed flashes of what sort of player he might have become if he figured out how to get on base more frequently.

I would refer you do his quotes from when the Braves sent him down. "This has really put a damper on my relationship with the Atlanta Braves", "I'm disappointed with the decision and how the whole process went down." Yeah, no ####. The real damper was you hitting something like .230/.280/.330 at the time.

And then having his agent publicly campaigning for a trade when he wasn't playing everyday. And then having her do it again when the Mets started pulling the plug. “We want to play every day,” Francoeur’s agent Molly Fletcher said yesterday. “We prefer to play in New York. But if we’re not going to play every day in
New York, we absolutely welcome the opportunity to play every day somewhere else . . . Talk to me is just that: It’s talk. What matters is what happens and is he in right field every day. And that’s what we’re watching.”

You all have short memories.

It is rare that we see our son get excited over anything to do with sports as Autistic children tend to be more interested in books, and computers rather than sports.

Is this true? I suppose I could just Google it, but I trust you guys more. My autistic cousin is the biggest New York Giants fan I've ever met in my life so I found this bit confusing.

I happened to buy seats in the first two rows down the RF line for a Mets game 2 years ago, and Francoeur was remarkably interactive with fans throughout the game. You can throw the "these guys don't appreciate how good they have it" meme where he is concerned. The guy seems giddy over the gift he's been given, though 15. 's quotes are also legitimate evidence to be introduced at trial.

Autistic kids, in my first-hand experience anyway, seem to be more into sports STATS and analysis than high-fiving fans at a sold-out stadium. They also may love watching games on TV, however.
And tendencies are not utterly limiting of course.

Is this true? I suppose I could just Google it, but I trust you guys more. My autistic cousin is the biggest New York Giants fan I've ever met in my life so I found this bit confusing.

It's fairly common for people on the autism spectrum to have obsessions. It's probably true that sports are a less common obsession than computers, but I don't think you can really generalize. My younger son isn't "autistic" but is on the spectrum (mild Asperger's) and his current obsession is baseball, which thrills me to no end. My older son, who is autistic, is much more into music and baking currently. He is becoming more open to sports, though, and, in fact, I'll be taking him to his first Cubs game next weekend (for the younger one's birthday party).