John Franco

John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher. During a 21-year baseball career, He pitched from 1984-2005 for three different National League teams, the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and Houston Astros. His 1,119 career games pitched is an NL record, and is ranked third in major league history; his 424 career saves ranked second in major league history when he retired, and remain the most by a left-hander. For 14 of his 20 seasons, he played for the New York Mets, serving as team captain in his final years with the team. Franco grew up in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. His father, the late Jim Franco, was a New York City Department of Sanitation worker who encouraged his son's baseball aspirations; Franco honored his father by wearing an orange Sanitation Department work-shirt under his jersey. John graduated from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn and St. John's University in Queens, where he...