Julio Franco Announces Retirement from Baseball at 49

In early May of 2008, Julio Franco announced his retirement from baseball. Franco was playing in the Mexican league at the time, not having appeared in the major leagues since the previous season. In that season, split between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, had Franco hitting a meager .222 and hitting only one home run in limited playing time. That one home run, hit on May 4^th, made Franco the oldest man ever to hit a home run in the major leagues. He hit the home run off another old-timer, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

Was Franco's retirement unexpected? Hardly, as most major leaguers retire 10 years or more before Franco's 49 years old. But with the announcement, one of the most unique careers in major league history came to and end.

Franco's professional career began in 1980, and broke into the major leagues in 1982 for 16 games with the Philadelphia Phillies. That off-season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians and became their starting shortstop. Over the next 14 seasons, Franco starred with Cleveland, and later Texas. He was a three time all-star during the early 90's, and won a batting title in 1991 with a .341 batting average. He won five silver slugger awards, including 4 in a row at one point.

In 1995, with major league baseball on strike and already 36 years old, Franco signed with the Chiba Lotte in Japan. Many major league players see a serious decline around their mid to late 30's, and it seemed Franco was on his way out of the game. He came back to the United States in 1996, however, and put up solid seasons for the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers.

In 1998, during a season in which he turned 39, Franco was back in Japan. In 1999, he played in the Mexican League, and had one at bat with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, striking out. At this point, Franco was over 40 years old, but he felt he could still play, and he certainly could still hit.

He played the 2000 season playing in South Korea, and started 2001 in the Mexican league before catching on with the Atlanta Braves for 25 games. He hit .300 in 90 at basts that year, at age 42.

Over the next 4 years, he was a mainstay in Atlanta, playing in at least 90 games each year and hitting .300, .284, .294, and .309 in part time duty. From 2001 to 2004, he was the 2^nd oldest player to appear in the major leagues. In 2004, he became the oldest player in the major leagues, and repeated that title in 2005, 2006, and 2007. After the 2005 season, at the age of 46, Julio Franco signed a two-year contract with the New York Mets as a free agent.

In 2006, he put up a solid season with the Mets, hitting .273 in 95 games. Franco struggled in 2007 with the Mets, and was released. He caught on with the Atlanta Braves again for 15 games at the end of the season. He began the 2008 season back in Mexico, before deciding to call it quits.

Franco's career spanned 23 seasons, with stops in Mexico, Japan, and South Korea along the way. In addition to being the oldest player to hit a home run in the major leagues, Franco was also the oldest to hit a grand slam, hit two home runs in a game, steal two bases in a game, hit a pinch-hit home run, and to serve as a pinch runner. He is also the 2^nd oldest player ever to steal a base, second only to Arlie Latham, who made a token appearance in 1909 at age 49.

Franco's career was not just long, but successful. He garnered 2,586 hits in his career, with 173 home runs and 1,194 RBI. He hit .298 for his career. His career was truly amazing, as he basically had a star career that followed a "normal" path, with his best years in his 20's and early 30's, and appeared to be in decline around age 35, when you'd expect. He then went on to play another 10 years in the majors, as well as around the world, continuing to hit very well right up until the end.

While not a Hall of Fame caliber player, Julio Franco is certainly one of the most unique and interesting characters in baseball history.