The Mets today announced that they have inducted John Franco in to the team’s Hall of Fame.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be elected to the Mets Hall of Fame,” Franco said in a team-issued press release. “I would like to thank Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, Jeff Wilpon, the Hall of Fame Committee, all of my managers and coaches and of course my teammates. My entire family is looking forward to June 3.”
In 14 seasons with the Mets, Franco went 48-56 with a 3.10 ERA in 702 2/3 innings pitched during 695 games. He finished 484 games and racked up 276 saves during his time in Flushing, allowing 276 walks and striking out 592.
To read other quotes from Franco’s conference call from earlier today, as well as get Brian Erni’s reaction to the announcement,
Brian Erni: Last summer,
I had a chance to talk to Franco about, among other topics, the Baseball Hall of Fame. While it seems Cooperstown won’t be calling, at least not any time soon, I’m glad Franco will be honored by the Mets organization. I think it’s easy to forget how much Franco meant to the franchise for such a long time. While he was here, his tenure was full of anguishing ninth innings, both ones he locked up and ones he let slip away. But if you look at John’s body of work and what he meant to the Mets both as their closer, Armando Benitez’s set up man and the captain of the club from ’01-’04, I think his accomplishments warrant recognition. I, for one, will always remember him striking out Barry Bonds looking on a 3-2 pitch to end Game 2 of the 2000 Division Series in San Francisco, which was the Mets’ first win of their postseason that resulted in their last NL Pennant.
To see the complete list of existing members in the Mets Hall of Fame, click here.
