Jeff Francoeur hit .261 with 160 home runs in his 12 years as a big-league outfielder, spending six of those seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
Francoeur retired after last season and now is an analyst for Braves games with Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast. Atlanta's first-round pick of the 2002 draft was a guest this week on "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM.
Q: Do you remember coming to Chattanooga in 2005 and making a throw from right field to gun down Jeff Bannon of the Lookouts at third base?
A: "I do, and I tell people all the time that as time went on, I knew I wasn't going to be able to hit, but I think even when I'm 70 that I'll be able to throw somebody out."
Q: How has it been being an analyst, and has it been challenging when you have to be critical of somebody?
A: "I think that's the hardest thing, because these are guys who I've just played with. I did the Marlins and Braves, the two teams I played for last season, and I'm like, 'Should I bury this guy?' But I'm having a blast with it, and it's keeping me involved with the game.
"It's also keeping me at home, which I'm enjoying after 12 years. I'm spending time with the kids. I'm playing golf. I'm just enjoying things, honestly."
Q: You've seen plenty of Braves games. Will they finish 10 games below .500, right at .500, or 10 games over .500?
A: "I would say right at .500, and the reason I say that is because the guys who have been critical to this team at this point are the guys who are here now. I don't see any reason why we can't be .500, and then we can go get some pitching the next couple of offseasons.
"Our offense is good, and I've said from day one this year that we would score runs with the best of them."
Q: Do you have to explain your numbers to people who view your career as a disappointment given the hype you had on the front end?
A: "I used to struggle with that a little bit, but after a while you get comfortable with who you are as a player. I had some big years. The 2011 season with Kansas City may have been my best all-around year (.285 with 20 homers and 87 RBIs), but it is what it is. There were some years when I really struggled.
"If I could ever go back, I would change one thing. When I first came up, I wish I would have learned to make some adjustments, which would have been tough when I was doing well, but there were things I needed to work on to take that next step. I didn't, and it cost me."
Q: What is your favorite (former Lookouts and Mississippi Braves manager) Phillip Wellman story?
A: "The number one story by far is what he did that time (he was ejected) against the Lookouts. There is nothing better than that, and to this day, it's my favorite thing. We were in Chicago when it happened, and (former Braves manager) Bobby (Cox) told Phillip that he would pay his fine for him. We had a ball with that.
"I could tell you a lot of funny Phillip Wellman stories, but that's the same guy who would be with me in the cages until 3 or 4 in the morning at Mississippi when I was crying and struggling. You will never find someone who cares more about his players. The first guy (Braves first baseman) Matt Adams talked to me about in the clubhouse was Phillip Wellman."
Q: Turning to our rapid fire, what was your favorite moment of your professional career?
A: "My walk-off grand slam against the Nats in '06. It was the only game my grandpa got to see me play. We ended up getting the ball from that game and putting it in his casket. He died two months later."
Q: You signed a football scholarship with Clemson before choosing baseball. Do you still pull for the Tigers?
A: "I do. I've been to both of the national championship games, and I keep in touch with (Clemson football coach) Dabo (Swinney) and that staff. It's a great time to be a Tiger."
Q: If you could pick one opponent for Clemson to defeat, who would it be?
A: "I've got to go with Florida State, but when Clemson and Georgia get that rivalry going every 10 years or so, I want to beat Georgia. My wife and her family went to Georgia, and I've got to put up with listening to those Dawgs all the time. Although they're not chirping much right now."
Q: Who was the big-league pitcher you least wanted to face?
A: "Roy Halladay. I hated it. It was 2-0, and his ball would be coming in at 95 and cutting away. He was as good a competitor as you could get. My other one would be Brandon Webb with the Diamondbacks. I call my left shin 'Webb,' because I have so many indentions on my left shin from fouling them off."
Q: What good pitcher did you enjoy facing?
A: "Cole Hamels. We would go to Philly, and I'd go 0-for-3 against Jamie Moyer throwing 77. Then I'd face Cole Hamels the next night and go 3-for-3. That's why I love baseball. It makes no sense."
Q: You played for several clubs. Was there one team you wanted to beat most?
A: "I would say St. Louis. It always felt like they were better than everybody else and that they knew everything."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.