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Jeff Francoeur, successful his ain words, "know[s] shot backwards and forwards."
A erstwhile first-round prime erstwhile dubbed "The Natural," Francoeur is present an expert for his erstwhile Atlanta Braves portion doubling up arsenic a dada to athletes.
An adept of the game, it would beryllium casual for him to instrumentality complaint of his children's shot games. But helium wants to fto his kids beryllium kids.
"Take the parents retired of [youth sports] and the kids usually person a large time," Francoeur told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "I manager a 12U question softball squad for my girl – each the parents deliberation their kid should beryllium hitting third, playing here, being this. If you took each the parents retired and asked those girls to marque a batting order, I stake you they tin bash a beauteous bully occupation of making what the batting bid should be."
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Jeff Francoeur (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Francoeur knows that determination are a ton of parents retired determination who take to unrecorded vicariously done their kids erstwhile it comes to athletics (he adjacent admitted helium tin "get carried away"), and he's not acrophobic to enactment those parents to the test.
"The archetypal question I inquire a batch of parents is, ‘What bash you privation retired of sports for your kids?’ My ma and dada wanted maine to larn to beryllium a large teammate, however to person [a] enactment ethic, flooded adversity," helium added. "Parents now, determination are inactive plentifulness that look astatine it similar that, but truthful galore look astatine it arsenic a ‘win astatine each costs’ astatine specified a young age. [Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz] said it champion connected the podcast. He said, ‘I privation determination were much coaches that person the balls to interest astir improvement implicit winning, particularly astatine the younger ages.’ That gets lost, man. So galore radical attraction astir the bottommost enactment and winning. Have you ever thought ‘what’s champion for my kid?’"
In fact, 1 of Francoeur's kids "hates baseball" and plays lacrosse.
"Even though I cognize shot backwards and forwards, and I’d emotion for my lad to play, this is his passion, this is his dream. Who americium I to beryllium here? I utilized to person to resistance him to shot practice. Lacrosse, helium tin person signifier from 6 to 8, he’s got his worldly laid out, he’s pumped, man."
Among his engagement successful younker sports, helium started the "Pure Athlete" podcast, which highlights younker sports, its parents and however it each tin beryllium axenic erstwhile again. His marque precocious partnered up with D1 Training to assistance those younger athletes beryllium successful sports for the close reasons.
"When we bash this podcast worldly with young athletes, you're trying to benignant of navigate that journey. There's truthful galore avenues, right? There's truthful galore places that you tin spell to train, to bash this, radical that merchantability you. For me, [D1 founder] Will [Bartholomew] and those guys, though, they bash it the close way, man, and they got the close radical connected with them," Francoeur said. "I emotion however they personalize everything; everything is circumstantial to what you're trying to do.
"If you're looking astatine trying to get the adjacent measurement successful advance, that's specified a large portion now. We speech to each these athletes, man, adjacent for my career, if I look back, if there's 1 happening I could person done better, it’s instrumentality attraction of your body, right? Train better, agility, nutrition, each that. I conscionable deliberation D1’s connected the cutting borderline of a batch of what they do."
Former Atlanta Braves subordinate Jeff Francoeur is shown with a Boys & Girls Club subordinate anterior to Game 3 of the 2021 World Series betwixt the Braves and the Houston Astros. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
‘MIXED FEELINGS’
Pete Rose is present eligible for the Hall of Fame.
If, and apt when, helium makes it, helium won't spot it. He died past September.
Rose was placed connected baseball's ineligible database successful 1989 aft it was rumored helium stake connected shot portion helium was with the Cincinnati Reds. Fifteen years aft the ban, helium yet admitted to doing truthful arsenic a manager.
It's since been reported helium gambled arsenic a player, but helium denied that.
It whitethorn beryllium pugnacious for immoderate to springiness "Charlie Hustle" the payment of the doubt, but Francoeur said he's talked to much Hall of Famers that are connected the broadside of letting him successful than not letting him in."
"I got truthful galore mixed feelings astir that. There’s nary close reply to that. It’s benignant of like, man, really? You’re going to hold until helium died to bash that?" Francoeur said. "It's truthful funny, due to the fact that you retrieve Pete Rose said before helium died, ‘When I die, they'll marque maine eligible.’ Sure enough, helium called it. I mean, they did."
Rose's Cooperstown destiny volition apt beryllium decided successful 2027 by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which considers players whose careers ended much than 15 years ago. He would request 12 of the 16 votes to get in.
Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, right, successful 1987 (Ricky Rogers/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
MLB IN DANGER?
The existent corporate bargaining statement expires successful December 2026, and the menace of a lockout is surely real.
Players and owners agreed to a woody aft a lockout of a small much than 3 months, from precocious 2021 into aboriginal 2022.
After the lockout came galore regularisation changes that shot purists whitethorn hate, but the numbers don't lie. Attendance has accrued successful each of the past 2 seasons and ratings person been adequate.
Francoeur said "the transportation timepiece was the top happening [MLB Commissioner Rob] Manfred ever did." But helium said the crippled cannot fumble the momentum it has gained successful caller years.
"To beryllium honorable with you, the lone happening I deliberation tin screw this up are 2 things. The TV deals, we’ve got [to] marque it amended for fans to ticker shot again. I inactive person 1,000 radical successful Atlanta [saying], ‘How bash I ticker the Braves?’" Francoeur said.
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But it looks similar players and owners volition beryllium battling for adjacent longer if a woody is not reached successful the adjacent twelvemonth and a half.
"And the second, I anticipation the national and the owners tin fig it out, but it doesn’t dependable large aft 2026. I cognize deadlines thrust deals, but I privation determination would beryllium much dialog now. Let’s commencement talking astir this now. We person 18 months to fig retired what we request to bash to marque definite there’s not a enactment stoppage. Attendance is up, stadiums person truthful overmuch now, but trying to fig that retired is important."
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