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Jeff Francoeur, in his own words, “know[s] baseball backwards and forwards.”
A former first-round pick once dubbed “The Natural,” Francoeur is now an analyst for his former Atlanta Braves while doubling up as a dad to athletes.
An expert of the game, it would be easy for him to take charge of his children’s ball games. But he wants to let his kids be kids.
“Take the parents out of [youth sports] and the kids usually have a great time,” Francoeur told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I coach a 12U travel softball team for my daughter – all the parents think their kid should be hitting third, playing here, being this. If you took all the parents out and asked those girls to make a batting order, I bet you they can do a pretty good job of making what the batting order should be.”
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Jeff Francoeur (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Francoeur knows that there are a ton of parents out there who choose to live vicariously through their kids when it comes to athletics (he even admitted he can “get carried away”), and he’s not afraid to put those parents to the test.
“The first question I ask a lot of parents is, ‘What do you want out of sports for your kids?’ My mom and dad wanted me to learn to be a great teammate, how to have [a] work ethic, overcome adversity,” he added. “Parents now, there are still plenty that look at it like that, but so many look at it as a ‘win at all costs’ at such a young age. [Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz] said it best on the podcast. He said, ‘I wish there were more coaches that have the balls to worry about development over winning, especially at the younger ages.’ That gets lost, man. So many people care about the bottom line and winning. Have you ever thought ‘what’s best for my kid?’”
In fact, one of Francoeur’s kids “hates baseball” and plays lacrosse.
“Even though I know baseball backwards and forwards, and I’d love for my son to play, this is his passion, this is his dream. Who am I to sit here? I used to have to drag him to baseball practice. Lacrosse, he can have practice from 6 to 8, he’s got his stuff laid out, he’s pumped, man.”
Among his involvement in youth sports, he started the “Pure Athlete” podcast, which highlights youth sports, its parents and how it all can be pure once again. His brand recently partnered up with D1 Training to help those younger athletes be in sports for the right reasons.
“When we do this podcast stuff with young athletes, you’re trying to kind of navigate that journey. There’s so many avenues, right? There’s so many places that you can go to train, to do this, people that sell you. For me, [D1 founder] Will [Bartholomew] and those guys, though, they do it the right way, man, and they got the right people connected with them,” Francoeur said. “I love how they personalize everything; everything is specific to what you’re trying to do.
“If you’re looking at trying to get the next step in advance, that’s such a big part now. We talk to all these athletes, man, even for my career, if I look back, if there’s one thing I could have done better, it’s take care of your body, right? Train better, agility, nutrition, all that. I just think D1’s on the cutting edge of a lot of what they do.”
Former Atlanta Braves player Jeff Francoeur is shown with a Boys & Girls Club member prior to Game 3 of the 2021 World Series between the Braves and the Houston Astros. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
‘MIXED FEELINGS’
Pete Rose is now eligible for the Hall of Fame.
If, and likely when, he makes it, he won’t see it. He died last September.
Rose was placed on baseball’s ineligible list in 1989 after it was rumored he bet on baseball while he was with the Cincinnati Reds. Fifteen years after the ban, he finally admitted to doing so as a manager.
It’s since been reported he gambled as a player, but he denied that.
It may be tough for some to give “Charlie Hustle” the benefit of the doubt, but Francoeur said he’s talked to more Hall of Famers that are on the side of letting him in than not letting him in.”
“I got so many mixed feelings about that. There’s no right answer to that. It’s kind of like, man, really? You’re going to wait until he died to do that?” Francoeur said. “It’s so funny, because you remember Pete Rose said before he died, ‘When I die, they’ll make me eligible.’ Sure enough, he called it. I mean, they did.”
Rose’s Cooperstown fate will likely be decided in 2027 by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which considers players whose careers ended more than 15 years ago. He would need 12 of the 16 votes to get in.
Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, right, in 1987 (Ricky Rogers/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
MLB IN DANGER?
The current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2026, and the threat of a lockout is certainly real.
Players and owners agreed to a deal after a lockout of a little more than three months, from late 2021 into early 2022.
After the lockout came numerous rule changes that baseball purists may hate, but the numbers don’t lie. Attendance has increased in each of the last two seasons and ratings have been adequate.
Francoeur said “the pitch clock was the greatest thing [MLB Commissioner Rob] Manfred ever did.” But he said the game cannot fumble the momentum it has gained in recent years.
“To be honest with you, the only thing I think can screw this up are two things. The TV deals, we’ve got [to] make it better for fans to watch baseball again. I still have 1,000 people in Atlanta [saying], ‘How do I watch the Braves?’” Francoeur said.
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But it looks like players and owners will be battling for even longer if a deal is not reached in the next year and a half.
“And the second, I hope the union and the owners can figure it out, but it doesn’t sound great after 2026. I know deadlines drive deals, but I wish there would be more dialogue now. Let’s start talking about this now. We have 18 months to figure out what we need to do to make sure there’s not a work stoppage. Attendance is up, stadiums have so much now, but trying to figure that out is important.”
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