Juan Ramón Francisco González (born June 24, 1987) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds,

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, Milwaukee Brewers and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He also played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

Francisco spent his first professional season, with the

Gulf Coast League Reds GU, Gu, or gu may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Gu (instrument), Chinese drums ** Bangu (drum) () or Gu (), a Chinese "flowerpot" drum * ''Global Underground'', an electronic dance music compilation series Other media * GU Comics, an ...

. He batted .280 in 182 at-bats with three home runs, and enjoyed a nine-game call up at the season's end to the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

rookie class team, where he went 12-for-36. Francisco spent 2007 with the single-A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

. He hit .268 in 534 at-bats, slugging 25 home runs and driving in 90. Juan was a

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

mid-season All-Star and post-season All-Star for the Dragons. Promoted again in 2008, this time to the single-A advanced

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

, he again spent the entire season with the same team. In 516 at-bats, he hit .277 with 23 homers and 92 RBI. Francisco earned All-Star status again, for both the mid-season and post-season in the Florida State League. In addition, he was selected to play in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game. Francisco was named Reds' Minor League Hitter of the Year for 2008. Juan played winter ball for

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Winter Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. In 40 games for the team, he .360 with 37 RBI, and his 12 home runs set the DWL record for regular season homers by a left-handed hitter. He continued to produce in the playoffs, hitting six more homers and 18 more RBI. His performance earned him the DWL Rookie of the Year accolade. He was added to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

on November 20. Originally a switch-hitter, Francisco abandoned hitting right-handed in 2009 to become a full-time lefty. Juan began the year in double-A Carolina. He played in 109 games for the Mudcats, where he hit .281 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI in 437 at-bats. For the third year in a row he earned mid- and post-season All-Star recognition, this time in the Southern League. He was promoted to the triple-A Louisville Bats. He played in 22 games, getting 92 at-bats, and hit .359 with 5 homers and 19 RBI. Juan again earned a promotion, this time to the Cincinnati Reds. Francisco made his debut for the Reds as part of a 3–1 win over the Houston Astros on September 14, 2009 at

Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds ...

. Pinch hitting for

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Darnell McDonald Darnell is a unisex given name and surname. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called Darnel, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean clim ...

in the seventh inning, Francisco faced

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Jeff Fulchino Jeffrey Paul Fulchino (born November 26, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Career Florida Marlins Fulchino played one Major League Baseball game with the Florida Marlins in . His major league debut was on June 22, 2006, ...

and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

in his first Major League at bat. He finished his September call-up batting .429 (9-for-21) with his first career big-league homer and seven RBI. He was again named Minor League Hitter of the Year, and Baseball America rated him the organization's best power hitter and best infield arm. He headed back to the Gigantes for the 2009–10 DWL season. He played in 46 games this time, batting .302 with 11 doubles, 11 homers, and 42 RBI. The Gigantes were runners-up in the playoffs, and in 22 games of post-season play he hit 3 home runs with 18 RBI. This performance earned him the title of 2009 DWL Most Valuable Player. Francisco spent 2010 mainly with the Louisville Bats. Ironically, in his best statistical season to date, he was not named to any All-Star roster for the first time in four years. For the Bats, he played in 77 games and hit .286 in 308 at-bats, slugging 18 homers and 59 RBI in his shortened season. He spent the rest of the season with the Reds, and saw action in 36 games. He hit .273 with one homer and seven RBI in 55 at-bats. He played winter ball with Cibao again, and continued to be one of the top players. In 39 games and 152 at-bats, he hit .322 with 8 homers and 30 RBI. They lost in the championship game again, but this time without Francisco, who fouled a pitch off his leg under his right knee on December 10 and missed the rest of the season. He was hospitalized when it became infected and inflamed and the knee had to be drained, but

Walt Jocketty Walt Jocketty (born February 19, 1951) is a baseball executive who is the Executive Adviser to the CEO of the Cincinnati Reds. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota where he earned a bachelor's degree in business a ...

, Reds GM, said that it was nothing serious. Despite missing part of the season, Francisco won his second consecutive DWL MVP award. This and his other trips to the DWL playoffs, which are taken very seriously in the Dominican Republic, have given Juan post-season experience which he can bring with him to the big leagues. Francisco made the club out of spring training in 2011 as a backup to

Scott Rolen Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. He was an eight-t ...

, backup left fielder, and a left-handed bat off the bench. He switched his number from 64 to the more conventional number 25. On September 12, 2011, Francisco hit a home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Rodrigo López that cleared the right field bleachers at

. It was estimated to have gone 502 feet. It was the second longest home run in Great American Ballpark history behind Adam Dunn's 535 ft home run in 2004.

Atlanta Braves

On April 1, 2012, Francisco was traded to the

for pitcher

J. J. Hoover James Alan Hoover Jr. (born August 13, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach for the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinn ...

. His debut for the Braves came at third base on April 7, 2012 against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Francisco entered 2013 as the replacement for the recently retired

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

at third base, along with Chris Johnson. On April 16, 2013, Francisco had his first career multi-homer game in a 6–3 win over the Kansas City Royals. On May 8, Francisco hit his first career

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

against Reds pitcher J. J. Hoover (who he had been traded for). Francisco was designated for assignment by the Braves on May 30 to make room on the roster for Alex Wood. At that point, Johnson won the starting third base job for himself. In 35 games with Atlanta, Francisco hit .241/.287/.398 with 5 HR and 16 RBI.

Milwaukee Brewers

On June 3, 2013, Francisco was traded by the Braves to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Tom Keeling. He split first base duties with Yuniesky Betancourt until around mid-August, when

Jonathan Lucroy Jonathan Charles Lucroy (born June 13, 1986) is a former American professional baseball catcher. Between 2010 and 2021, he spent 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Oakl ...

and

Sean Halton Sean Michael Halton (born June 7, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. Career Halton attended Fresno High School and Fresno City College. After two ...

got more starts, with Francisco getting the smallest third, being used more often as a pinch-hitter. In 124 total games, he hit .227/.296/.412 with 18 HR and 48 RBI. He was released on March 24, 2014.

Toronto Blue Jays

On April 1, 2014, the

signed Francisco to a minor league contract, and assigned him to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

. His contract was purchased by the Blue Jays on April 19, when

Maicer Izturis Maicer Eduardo Izturis (; born September 12, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. During his career he played for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB ...

was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and he made his Blue Jays debut that day as the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. Francisco enjoyed early success as a member of the Blue Jays, but his inability to hit the breaking ball reduced his effectiveness, and then his playing time. He finished the 2014 season batting .220 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI, but struck out 116 times in 287 at-bats.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 19, 2014, Francisco was claimed off waivers by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. He was designated for assignment on November 25, but was non-tendered and became a free agent. On January 10, 2015, Francisco signed a minor league deal with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. After failing to make the 25-man roster out of spring training, Tampa Bay attempted to send Francisco to Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, however he exercised an opt-out clause in his contract on April 5 and became a free agent.

Yomiuri Giants

On April 21, 2015, Francisco signed with the

. His NPB debut against the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

took place on May 2. Francisco hit an RBI single that helped the Giants win a 1–0 shutout.

Baltimore Orioles

After sitting out the 2016 season, Francisco signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in February 2017. He was released on May 16, 2017.

Leones de Yucatán

On June 6, 2017, Francisco signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

Guerreros de Oaxaca

On January 31, 2020, Francisco signed with the

Guerreros de Oaxaca The Guerreros de Oaxaca (English: Oaxaca Warriors) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico. Their home field is Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos. History In October 1995, a group of businessmen, ...

of the

. Francisco was released on June 5, 2020.

References

External links

Juan Francisco's NPB statistics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francisco, Juan 1987 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Arizona League Reds players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Billings Mustangs players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Carolina Mudcats players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Reds players Leones de Yucatán players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball first basemen Milwaukee Brewers players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen People from Bonao Sarasota Reds players Tigres del Licey players Toronto Blue Jays players Yomiuri Giants players Olympic baseball players of the Dominican Republic