Welcome Back Johnny Franco

There was an old friend back in Mets Camp today. Former closer and setup man John Franco is in Port St. Lucie serving as an instructor. The all-time saves leader for left-handed pitchers will provide the youngsters in camp with his knowledge of the game that he played for 21 seasons.

Some are split in how they remember the legacy of Franco. This is a guy who came over in a trade from the Reds before the 1990 season and consistently posted 30 saves for a team that was bad for just about the entire decade until Piazza arrived in 1998. Franco opened up the welcome wagon for Piazza, giving up the #31 and treating him to Italian meal out in New York City. Once the Mets brought in the flame thrower Armando Benitez in 1999, Franco transitioned into the setup role.

Franco, like any pitcher became less effective with age. Any save opportunity had Mets fans biting their nails down to the cuticle. The 2 lasting memories of Franco are him striking out Barry Bonds in the NLDS in 2000 and then the euphoric celebration when the Mets beat the Cardinals to clinch the NLCS.

So as much angst as Franco put Mets fans through in the 9th inning, he gave 15 years of his career to this franchise. He should be remembered as a great Met. Its always fun to see the players we grew up watching play come back to the organization in another type of capacity.