Frank Francisco
Franklin Thomas Francisco (born September 11, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. Baseball career Francisco was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox. He was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, , along with Byeong Hak An, in exchange for reliever Bob Howry. On July 1, , the White Sox acquired Carl Everett from the Texas Rangers in exchange for three players to be named later. Texas Rangers On July 25, 2003, Francisco, Josh Rupe, and minor leaguer Anthony Webster were sent to the Rangers to complete the trade. Francisco is best known for participating in a notable incident involving fan violence. On September 13, , he threw a folding chair into the crowd during a game against the Oakland Athletics. The incident initially escalated when Rangers pitcher Doug Brocail confronted a fan. Francisco, who was in the dugout when all this was happening in the bullpen, ran from the dugout to the bullpen and threw a folding chair into the crowd, hitting a female fan in the face, breaking her nose and causing a cut which required stitches. Francisco was arrested and on June 30, 2005, he pleaded no contest to the charges. He was sentenced to anger management classes and a work program. A civil suit brought by the woman who had been struck by the chair was settled on January 12, 2007. Terms of the settlement included an undisclosed payment and a public apology. Francisco was suspended for the balance of the 2004 season, and missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Francisco rejoined the club on September 8, . After a poor spring training, Francisco started with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma RedHawks. Following an injury to Éric Gagné in mid-April, Francisco was recalled to the majors. Francisco spent time in as the Rangers' closer after an injury to regular closer C. J. Wilson. Francisco again began as the closer. He began with seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, while garnering two saves. Through the end of April, Francisco maintained a 0.00 ERA with one walk and nine strikeouts, as well as six saves. He allowed his first run of 2009 on an upper-deck home run by Oakland Athletics' second baseman, Adam Kennedy. Francisco and the Rangers agreed to a one-year contract of $3.265 million, thereby avoiding arbitration for the 2010 season. Francisco lost the closer's role after blowing saves in his first two chances of the 2010 baseball season. Toronto Blue Jays On January 25, 2011, Francisco was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Mike Napoli. On January 29, Francisco agreed to terms with the Blue Jays on a one-year contract. After a stint on the disabled list, Francisco made his debut as a Blue Jay on April 20. On