Relief pitcher John Franco, born and raised in Brooklyn, was honored by Mayor Rudy Giuliani at New York’s City Hall on Tuesday in tribute to his 400th save. The Mets will salute him Saturday with his own day.
Trust me, he’s deserving. Franco, 38, has put in 15 seasons of hard labor in the bullpen. Two weeks ago he became the second reliever to reach the 400-save plateau. If he has two more good seasons he could surpass Lee Smith’s career record of 478.
If he stays healthy, he can do it because he has been doing it without the big fastball. What rescue artists have his kind of numbers dealing soft stuff? Possibly three: Hoyt Wilhelm (knuckleball), Bruce Sutter (split-finger) and Tug McGraw (screwball).
“His stats speak a lot but they don’t speak everything,” Mets manager Bobby Valentine said last weekend while his club was here playing the Cubs. “One blown save in New York is difficult to overcome. It’s magnified. The press gets on him, the fans. But he’s a fighter. He’s able to get off the canvas.”
Franco has succeeded with a screwball and a changeup, off-speed pitches. He doesn’t throw a curve or the splitter. An occasional slider and a fastball he seldom throws for a strike complete his repertoire.
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To say he’s a crafty left-hander is an understatement.
“I’ve never seen anyone like him,” said Robin Ventura, his new teammate. “He might walk a couple of guys and it might seem he’s in trouble, but he knows what he’s doing. If he doesn’t throw a strike, it’s because he doesn’t have to.”
Like all closers, Franco prefers a save over a victory.
“I don’t get paid for wins. I get paid for saves,” he said. “I’d much rather have the starters get the win, or the middle men who are setting me up.”
Has Franco ever heard of Elroy Face.
“Sure,” he said, “Didn’t he go 18-1?”
Face was 18-1 with Pittsburgh in 1959, the best won-lost record for a reliever. But there is a hidden secret. In 10 of his triumphs, Face gave up the tying or lead run. The Pirates had an outstanding hitting team and repeatedly recaptured the lead in their next at-bat. Face was much more effective the previous season when he was 5-2.
To date Franco has 77 victories and 404 saves, an excellent ratio.
The biggest horror for a closer is to come in in the ninth inning and blow a lead.
“It’s a terrible feeling,” Franco conceded. “When you do well, everybody loves you. When you don’t, you’re the goat.”
Franco is accustomed to the pressure. He is among the growing breed of ninth-inning pitchers, summoned only when the game is on the line. If he retires the side in order he will need about 15 pitches. If he allows one or two baserunners, as many as 25 or 30 may be necessary.
Because of his specialty, he averages only one inning for every appearance. Last season he appeared in 61 games and worked 64 2/3 innings. The year before it was 59 games, 60 innings. It’s not much of a workload, but the pressure is enormous. The degree of difficulty mounts. The last out is always the toughest.
When he signed with the Dodgers out of St. John’s, Franco was a starter. Del Crandall, the former catcher then managing a Dodger farm club, put him in the bullpen. He surfaced in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds and for 6 1/2 seasons worked exclusively in relief. The Mets acquired him after the ’89 season in a trade for Randy Myers.
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He has led the National League in saves three times and has appeared in 841 games overall, all in relief.
Someday he would like to make a start.
“It’s no big deal,” he said, “other than to satisfy my curiosity. I want to say, `Hey, I started a big-league game.’ “
Because one inning is his usual limit, how far does he think he would go as a starter? It isn’t likely he would last more than two innings, three at the most.
Franco disagreed.
“If I condition myself, maybe four or five,” he said.
Only three relievers have worked more games than Franco without making a start: Kent Tekulve, 1,050; Sparky Lyle, 899; and Jeff Reardon, 880.