John Franco (Part Two) All Time Lefthanded Saves Leader (1999 - 2005)

1999 Mets Wild Card Season: As the season began John Franco was once again the Mets main closer. On April 10th, he notched his first save of 1999, in an extra inning win in Montreal.

400th Career Save: On April 14th, Franco struck out the side in the top of the 9th inning, as the Mets beat the Marlins.  Franco became just the second pitcher, to notch his 400th career save.

In the month of April, he had eight saves in opportunities, allowing just one earned run in 9.1 innings of work, for an ERA of 0.96.

He continued to pitch well through May as he converted his first 14 save opportunities. From May 21st to May 31st, he did not allow a run in five appearances as he started June with a 1.74 ERA.

It wasn't until June 2nd, his 23rd appearance, when he gave up a two-run single to the Reds Mike Cameron that he blew his first save. On June 11th, he gave up an 11th inning RBI single to the Red Sox John Valentin & took his first loss.

At the start of July, Franco had 19 saves with just the one blown save opportunity, 

On July 2nd he came on pitch in the 9th inning of a 13-0 crushing from the Braves. He gave up three more runs & more importantly, injured his finger & it would be his last appearance until September.  

Injury: He suffered a strain on a tendon on the middle finger of his pitching hand. He would go on the DL & would miss two months of action. Manager Bobby Valentine gave the closers role to Armando Benitez as the Mets went into the pennant & wild card race. 

When Franco returned, he found himself in a new role & had to adjust his mind set as the teams set up man. He went out accepted his position & advised Benitez in his new role as well. In September he made 12 appearances, giving up just one earned run in 9.1 innings earning a save & hold.

The Mets ended of the season tied for the wild card with Franco's former team the Cincinnati Reds. The two squared off in a one game playoff in Cincinnati to determine the winner. 

Al Leiter pitched a complete game victory as the Mets went on to the NLDS, it was Franco's first post season appearance.

Franco finished the 1999 season at 0-2 with 19 saves & a 2.88 ERA, in 46 appearances. He struck out 41 batters & walked 19 in 40.2 innings of work. Armando Benitez saved 22 games.

Post Season- 1999 NLDS: In the 1999 NLDS win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Franco made his first appearance finishing out the Mets 7-1 loss at Arizona. He made another appearance pitching a scoreless 8th inning in Game #3, in the Mets 9-2 win at Shea Stadium.

In the final Game #4, he was the winning pitcher as he pitched a perfect 10th inning leading up to Todd Pratt's Walk off Series winning HR in the bottom of the inning. 

1999 NLCS: Franco appeared in three games of the NLCS loss to the Atlanta Braves, giving up one run in 2.2 innings pitched, with three strike outs.

In the classic 15 inning Game #5 at Shea Stadium, he came in relief of Pat Mahomes with two on & two out in the top of the 8th inning. He got Keith Lockhart to ground out to end the inning. He then pitched a scoreless 9th inning. The Mets won the game on Robin Ventura's Walk off grand slam (single).

In Game #6 at Atlanta the Mets came back from seven runs down. In the 7th inning they scored four runs led by a Mike Piazza two run HR off John Smoltz to tie the game. In the 8th hits by Benny Agbayani & Melvin Mora put the Mets ahead. 

But in the bottom of the 8th, Franco gave up a one out single to Eddie Perez, pinch runner Otis Nixon then stole second. Brian Hunter followed with an RBI single tying up the game. Franco later said, this was the biggest disappointment of his career.

The Mets regained the lead in the 10th but Armando Benitez then blew it in the 11th, as the Braves tied it again. They won it in the 11th, when Kenny Rogers walked Andru Jones with the bases loaded.

2000 Mets NL Pennant Season:  This year John Franco turned 40 years old, in the twilight of his career. He was in the setup role once again. 

Tokyo Series: The season opened up with the Mets playing the Cubs in Tokyo, Franco appeared in both games, pitching scoreless innings. 

First Victory in Three Seasons: On April 14th, he pitched two scoreless relief innings at Pittsburgh, earning his first victory dating back to September 13th, 1997. It ended a personal ten game losing streak.

 Melvin Mora singled in the 8th, to break a tie game, followed by Mike Piazza's two run HR.

On May 5th, Franco earned a save in Florida, closing out the 9th inning of a 4-1 Mets win. On May 17th at Shea Stadium, he earned another save over the Colorado Rockies. 

On May 30th, he earned his second victory, coming at Dodger Stadium, as he retired Shawn Green with two on to end the 8th inning, working in relief of Turk Wendell. Todd Zeile's RBI single was the game winner in the 9th.

On May 22nd, he got his first loss, blowing Glendon Rusch's shut out in the 8th inning, giving up an RBI single to Ruben Rivera at San Diego. The Mets were shut out 1-0 by Matt Clement & Trevor Hoffman. 

In June Franco took a loss at Wrigley Field after allowing two singles & then a Mets infield error forced the unearned winning run to score. Franco took one more loss that month, but then would not have another losing decision until September 6th.

From June 24th to July 27th, he earned wins against Pittsburgh, Toronto & Montreal, while not allowing an earned run in 13 appearances spanning 10.2 innings. In that stretch he struck out ten & allowed just four hits.

On the year Franco went 5-4 with three saves &3.40 ERA. As the setup man, he earned twenty holds credited to his record. He appeared in 62 games, the most of his Met's career, finishing off 14 games. He struck out 56 batters & walked 26 in 55 innings. Of the 22 runners he inherited he stranded 17 of them.

Post Season 2000- NLDS: In the 2000 NLDS against the Giants, Franco came in the 10th inning of Game #2 in San Francisco, after Armando Benitez had given up a leadoff single. 

In the top of the inning, Jay Payton had singled home the Mets go ahead run. 

Franco retired the side in order getting slugger Barry Bonds to look at a third strike to end the game. The Mets won the game & evened the series at one game apiece heading back to New York. 

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Franco made one more appearance pitching a scoreless 9th inning, sending the game to extra innings

Once again, he struck out Barry Bonds to end the inning. The Mets won the game in the bottom of the 13th inning on Agbayani's walk off HR, centerfieldmaz was in attendance for that exciting win.

2000 NLCS: In the NLCS win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Franco would make three appearances in the five games. 

In Game #1 he came on in the top of the 8th inning in relief of Mike Hampton. Franco got credit for a hold pitching a scoreless inning, with a strike out, as the Mets won 6-2. 

In Game #2 at Busch Stadium, Franco came on in the bottom of the 8th with the Mets ahead 5-3. But he blew the lead, as he gave up two runs in 0.2 innings. After putting two runners on he threw a wild pitch & then gave up an RBI double to JD Drew to tie the game. In the top of the 9th Jay Payton's RBI single gave the Mets the winning run as Armando Benitez pitched a scoreless 9th.

In the Game #4 win at Shea Stadium, he made one more appearance pitching a scoreless 8th inning. 

Overall Franco appeared in three NLCS games allowing two runs on three hits while striking out three & walking two in 2.2 innings pitched.

2000 Subway World Series: Franco was thrilled to be playing in his first World Series, especially in a subway series. The busy reliever would see action in four of the five games.

In Game #1 he pitched a scoreless 8th inning, preserving the Mets 3-2 lead. Armando Benitez would blow the save in the 9th & the Mets lost the game on Jose Vizcaino's Walk off single in the 12th inning.

World Series Win: In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he pitched a scoreless top of the 8th inning leaving the mound with in a 2-2 tie.  I

n the bottom of the inning Benny Agbayani doubled to score Todd Zeile putting the Mets ahead. Next Bubba Trammell added an RBI sac fly for a Mets insurance run. The Mets went on to a 4-2 win as John Franco earned the victory, for his only World Series win. centerfieldmaz was in attendance that game as well.

World Series Trivia: At 40 years old, Franco was the second oldest pitcher to win a World Series game. In 1933 the New York Giants Dolph Luque earned a win at 43 years old.

Franco appeared in the next two games as well, finishing off the top of the 9th inning of the Game #5 loss at Shea. Overall Franco appeared in four World Series games, allowing no runs on three hits in 3.1 innings of work, getting the win in the only Mets victory. 

2000 Post Season Stats: In 15 post season appearances, he was 2-0 with a save posting a 1.88 ERA. He earned three holds & a blown save, striking out 10 batters walking three in 14.1 innings pitched. 

After the Pennant- Team Captain: In 2001 John Franco was named the Captain of his Mets team. Franco was just the third Mets player to be named a team Captain. In 1987 Keith Hernandez was first, the shared co-Captain duties with Gary Carter in 1989.

On May 4th, the night the Mets players voted unanimously for Franco as Captain, he earned his first save of the season. On May 25th, he earned a win over the Marlins, after pitching a scoreless 10th inning & Timo Perez won the game with a walk off single.

14 Consecutive Scoreless Innings: From June 7th to July 15th, he did not allow a run in 14.1 consecutive scoreless innings. In June he went 2-0 with a save not allowing a run in 10.2 innings in 11 games in the month. On June 7th in Philadelphia, he struck the side in the 8th inning & earned his second victory when Tsuyoshi Shingo hit a top of the 9th inning HR off Jose Mesa. On June 13th he earned another extra inning win, this one at Camden Yards. 

On June 19th at Shea, he was brought in for another save opportunity & collected the 422 save of his career, second all-time to only Lee Smith.

Subway Series Win: On July 7th, he won his third straight game, pitching a scoreless 8th inning in the Bronx, as he combined with Kevin Appier & Armando Benitez in a four-hit shutout. Franco got the win, after the Mets put up three runs in the top of the 10th off Mariano Rivera. 

On July 29th, he blew a save against the Phillies when Scott Rolen hit an 8th inning HR to tie the game. The lead would go back & forth two more times, until Mike Piazza won it with a walk off HR.

Thru August, Franco collected five holds before blowing another save against the Phillies, this time taking the loss.

911: On September 11th, America was shocked by the attacks on the twin towers in lower Manhattan. Baseball was put on hold & the Mets played a big role in the relief efforts. 

The events really hit home for the native New Yorker, John Franco. He had his own personal family ties to the city. His father was a New York Sanitation worker & his uncle was a NY Firefighter. Franco helped in the relief efforts at Shea Stadium, loading trucks with supplies & reaching out into the community. 

That year he earned the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for his volunteer efforts.

When play resumed, the Mets players chose to wear caps donning various New York City agencies, against the wishes of MLB. They wore NYPD-FDNY on their caps, in honor of the fallen as well as those who worked in the rescue efforts. 

On September 17th, in the first game played after the 911 tragedies, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Franco was fittingly the winning pitcher. He pitched a scoreless bottom of the 8th, notching a K for his sixth victory of the year. In the top of the 9th inning Rey Ordonez singled in a run & Mark Johnson drove in two more runs with a double. 

Piazza 911 HR Game: On September 21st, in the emotional first game played back in New York City after 911, Franco had come in to pitch in the 8th inning against the Braves. 

He got the first two outs but then surrendered a walk to Julio Franco & a hit to Chipper Jones. Bobby Valentine came to the mound & relieved Franco bringing in Armando Benitez. 

Benitez allowed a double to Brian Jordan, breaking the tie, putting Atlanta ahead. 

But in the bottom of the inning, Mike Piazza blasted one the most exciting HRs in New York history, putting the Mets ahead, exciting the New York crowd leading to the emotional win. Franco was off the hook as he would have been the losing pitcher.

On the season, the Mets made a late run for the wild card, but it was short lived. Franco was 6-2 with two saves, 17 holds & a 4.05 ERA. He struck out 50 & walked 19 in 53 innings making 58 appearances. He ended the season with 998 career appearances, fifth most all time.

Off Season Surgery: In December he had a procedure to remove calcium deposits on his left elbow, 

2002: He suffered a series of setbacks & was placed on the DL. In May it seemed his career was over when he had to get Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire season but was determined to come back & not end his career in injury.

2003: On May 30th, 2003, at age 42, John Franco returned to the mound at Shea Stadium pitching one inning relief against the Atlanta Braves. He became the second oldest pitcher to pitch for the Mets, as Warren Spahn was 44 in 1965.

Unfortunately, the Mets were having a bad season, they would finish fourth (66-95) under manager Art Howe. But Franco was still happy to be able to come back & compete in New York.

1000th Career Game: On June 5th at Shea Stadium, he became just the eighth pitcher in MLB history to appear in his 1000th game. Franco came on in the 6th inning, not allowing a run but giving up a hit to Milwaukee's Richie Sexton in a 5-3 loss. 

In the June subway series, he blew a save chance by giving up a HR to Hideaki Matsui. In mid-July, he earned two losses & was still aiming for a win or save decision. 

On July 21st, he earned his first save in two years, coming at Philadelphia pitching a scoreless 9th against the Phillies. On August 24th at Dodger Stadium, he would earn one more save for his career #424 second on the All-time save list.

From July 26th to the end of the season, Franco did not allow a run in 18 of his last 21 appearances, posting a 1.50 in that time, allowing three runs in 18 innings.

In 2003 John made 38 appearances on the year, going 0-3 posting a 2.62 ERA. He struck out 16 & walked 13 in 34.1 innings in 38 appearances finishing off 13 games.

2004: Franco hung on as long as he could pitching his final season with Mets in 2004. After falling to 0-3 he was credited a win against the Reds at Shea on June 22nd. It was his first win since September 17th, 2001, in the first game after 911.

Final Career Vicory: On July 3rd, in a tied subway series game at Shea Stadium, Franco came on with two outs in the 9th inning. Although he loaded the bases, he struck out Jorge Posada looking for the final out of the inning. 

The Mets Shane Spencer drove in the winning run on a fielder’s choice scoring Kaz Matsui in the bottom of the 9th for the walk off win. Franco was credited with the win.

From there he would collect three holds the rest of the way & lose his last three decisions. He appeared in just seven games over the final two months of the season. 

Final Mets Appearance: On October 3rd, in the final game of the season, he had a last hurrah as the Mets fans gave him a standing ovation, as he came on in the 8th inning. He gave up a base hit then retired the Expos Ryan Church for his last Mets out.

In 2004 Franco went 2-7 with 11 holds on the year, posting a 5.28 ERA in 56 appearances for the
fourth-place team. He had 36 strike outs with 24 walks in 46 innings.

Mets Career Stats: His 15-year Mets career ended on November 1st, 2004 when he was granted free agency. Franco is the clubs' all-time saves leader with 276. He is first in Mets pitching appearances (695) & 18th on the Mets all-time list with 48 wins.

Franco pitched 702 innings, going 48-56 record, with 592 strikeouts. He posted a 3.10 Mets career ERA. He posted ERAs under two twice with the Mets (1992 & 1996) & ERAs under three, nine different times. 

Post Mets Career: In 2005 he signed with the Houston Astros appearing in in 31 games going 0-1 in his final season.

Career Stats- Most All Time Saves by a Left Hander: John Franco is the all-time left-handed MLB save leader (424). At the time of his retirement, he was second all-time & is now seventh all time overall. 

Most All- Time NL Appearances: His is first among National League pitchers all time in appearances (1119) & third in the majors all time behind former Mets Jesse Orosco & Mike Stanton.

In his 21-year career Franco went 90-87 with 975 strikeouts & 495 walks in 1245 innings pitched finishing off 774 games (4th all time) posting an overall 2.89 ERA.

Honors: On June 12th, 2012, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame at Citi Field.

In attendance was his family, friends & many old pals from his St. John's days. Former Mets players included Al Leiter who did the introduction, Frank Viola, Daryl Strawberry & Dwight Gooden.

Quotes- John Franco: "For those 14 years that I played here, I gave it my best, it wasn’t always easy, and I’m sure I kept a lot of you on the edge of your seats. But I had it under control all the time.” 

Halls of Fames: Franco is a member of the Italian American Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the St. John's University Athletics Hall of Fame & the Staten Island Hall of Fame. 

In 2006 he was pitching coach for Team Italia in the WBC.

Mets Honors:  John was on hand for Bob Murphy Night (2003), Ralph Kiner Night (2014) & Mike Piazza Night (2004) at Shea Stadium. 

In 2008 he attended the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium.

Citi Field: In March of 2009 he had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the first game ever played at the new Citi Field. It was a college game between his old St. John's school & Georgetown University. 

In 2013 Franco was on hand for festivities around the All-Star Game held at Citi Field.

  

In 2013 he was also on hand when the Mets inducted Mike Piazza into the Mets Hall of fame.

In 2022 he attended the unveiling of the Tom Seaver Statue outside of Citi Field. Later that year he attended the Mets Old Timers Day festivities & game.

Franco is still involved in many New York areas charities & appears at many Mets celebrity functions. 

He has served as a Mets Ambassador, as well as having done some TV & radio work for the team. 

He is also involved in various youth baseball leagues & events.

Family: Franco has been married to his high school sweetheart Rose for many years. They have known each other since they were 17 years old. They have three children, daughters Ella & Nicole & a son J.J.

His son J.J. Franco attended Brown University where he was an infielder. He was also drafted by the New York Mets out of high school.

Cooperstown: For some reason he has not been inducted for the Baseball Hall of Fame.