Jeffrey Braden Francoeur (/fræŋˈkʊər/; born January 8, 1984), nicknamed "Frenchy", is an American former professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins.

[1] When his playing days ended, he became a broadcaster; Francoeur is currently one of the lead television analysts for Atlanta Braves games, as well as doing various work for TBS.

While he never again had similarly strong statistics, he continued to have a productive career, playing for 11 more seasons as a journeyman outfielder for seven more teams before retiring after a short stint with the Marlins in 2016.

After the draft, Francoeur was assigned to the team's advanced Rookie League club in Danville, Virginia, where he played 38 games and hit .327 with 8 home runs and 31 RBIs.

Francoeur was a member of the Rome Braves inaugural season team which went on to win the 2003 South Atlantic League Championship.

He was part of a group of rookie players, nicknamed the "Baby Braves", that Atlanta called up from its minor league system during the 2005 season.

Francoeur made his MLB debut the following day when he started in right field against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a double header.

Francoeur is famous for his promise at the very beginning of his career: he made the cover of the edition of August 26, 2005 of Sports Illustrated, who dubbed him "The Natural" after he hit .360 with a 1.067 OPS in his first 37 games.

During his rookie season he garnered a reputation as a free swinging fastball hitter, with his first walk not coming until his 128th plate appearance.

He also became just the fourth Brave to play in all 162 games of a season, joining Félix Millán, Dale Murphy, and Andruw Jones.

Francoeur also displayed talent on the defensive side of the field, leading the league in outfield assists with 19 while earning his first career Gold Glove.

After weeks of being mired in the worst slump of his career, Braves management optioned Francoeur to Double-A Mississippi on July 4, 2008, to work with his old hitting coach Phillip Wellman and refine his swing away from the pressurized major league setting.

On July 20, Francoeur hit his first home run as a Met off Washington Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing, during the ninth inning of that game.

On August 23, 2009, Francoeur became the second player in major league history (after Homer Summa in 1927) to hit into a game-ending unassisted triple play.

[citation needed] On December 8, 2010, Francoeur signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals worth $2.5 million which included a mutual option for the 2012 season.

[17] In March 2014, after he was released by the Cleveland Indians, Francoeur signed with the San Diego Padres and was sent to the El Paso Chihuahuas in Triple A.

[22] In July, he began to have success both off the bench and in the starting lineup, including a stretch during which he hit three home runs in eight games.

Although he expressed a desire to remain with the Phillies through the 2015 season and perhaps even beyond, his play indicated he might be moved near the trading deadline to bolster a contending team's outfield.

[28] In September 2019, it was announced that he had been hired by TBS to work as an analyst for the network's NL Wild Card Game, NLDS (Washington vs. Los Angeles alongside Ernie Johnson Jr.) and National League Championship Series (NLCS)[29] alongside Brian Anderson and Ron Darling.

Along with former Braves teammate Chipper Jones, Francoeur played on the USA team in the first ever World Baseball Classic, in March 2006.

His sister Heather (Francoeur) Karvis used to teach English and co-coached the girls' basketball team at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta with Josh Geffner.

[32] In 2007, on SportSouth the "Big Braves Summer" promos, Francoeur revealed that his profession of choice (were he not a baseball player) would be coaching high school football.