12/21/24
August 25, 2005
Franco defying the aging process: Julio Franco says his goal is to play baseball until he is 50 years old, which seems ridiculous. But with the way he's going now, it's entirely possible. Happy 47th birthday, Julio!
I know we have this discussion about a lot of players, but I would love to see Julio Franco get in the Hall of Fame. Statistically, he's borderline at best (2,500 hits, .300 career average, a batting title, an All-Star MVP, and he was a top-ten hitter for the better part of a decade), but in the era of the quick fix, I would love to see someone who was good-to-great, and who has stayed at least good for so unbelievably long after the prime of his career, to be rewarded for sticking with it. I don't expect him to make it -- there were a few journeyman years in there that I'm guessing the voters won't be able to overlook -- but baseball could use a feelgood story, and Franco's sticktoitiveness holds lots of positive lessons for the kids. And if he does get in, they better vote him in on the first ballot, because at this rate he'll be eligible sometime after his 77th birthday.
posted by chicobangs at 01:28 PM on August 25, 2005
Does it count as defying age when you suck?
posted by david at 03:03 PM on August 25, 2005
While it's impressive that Franco's a productive hitter at his age, I don't think the fact that he's still playing at 47 makes a big difference in evaluating him for the hall of fame. The total number of seasons played, while better than most major leaguers, isn't really unbelievably long. He missed some seasons here and there and his first full season wasn't until he was 24. All told, he's only played 16 full seasons of major league ball (and in quite a few of those seasons, including the last few, he played in 130 games or less). That's why, if you look at the list of players with most games played, Franco barely cracks the top 100. In fact, any argument for durability (except one based on age alone) that applies to Franco would apply to other players who are clearly non-HOFers, such as Steve Finley or B.J. Surhoff. Unless you're arguing they deserve to get in as well. Now, if you look at age alone, then yes, it is impressive that Franco is still playing at age 47. However, again, there are plenty of players who've played until their forties. If you look at this, you'll see that the oldest player for a given year is typically in their early to mid forties. In fact, just last year, Jesse Orosco (who, granted, is a pitcher) played at 46 (which is what Franco's official age for this season is). And looking at that list, you see just as many non-HOFers as HOFers on it. Counting back, out of the last ten players eligible for the hall who played until 46 or later, only four of them (all pitchers) are HOFers. I guess what I'm saying with all this is that while it's impressive that Franco's still playing, it's not unbelievably impressive and it's certainly not HOF-impressive.
posted by joehyuk at 03:17 PM on August 25, 2005
Does it count as defying age when you suck? At 47 hitting close to .300 with 9 homers and 40 RBI, knowing your role on a team of very young players and probably being a good model to every one of them? Suck? Have a little respect, david. I'm sure not everyone can live up to your lofty accomplishments.
posted by dyams at 04:57 PM on August 25, 2005
It's gotta be the power naps.