Francoeur 'overshot his expectations'

ATLANTA - Considering Jeff Francoeur's central goal for 2005 was to surface in the big leagues by September, finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting Monday wasn't all that bad of a consolation, the 21-year-old Braves right fielder said.

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Francoeur ended up behind winner Ryan Howard of Philadelphia and Houston's Willy Taveras in the voting, which was held by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Francoeur had three more second-place votes than Taveras, but five fewer first-place nods than the Astros' center fielder.

Francoeur, who debuted July 7, hit .300 and had 14 homers and 45 RBI.

"It would have been nice. Sure, when you're right there, a part of you wants to win," Francoeur said, "but how could I be disappointed with all that happened?"

The Atlanta-area native began the year with Class AA Mississippi, and he skipped the next classification entirely when the Braves needed a spark in the outfield.

Francoeur gave that surge the evening of his debut when he hit a three-run homer in his third at-bat to help the Braves beat the Chicago Cubs. And he continued to provide a punch that Atlanta needed in the middle part of the season. He hit .400 through his first 91 at-bats spanning his first six weeks in the big leagues.

Additionally, Francoeur had 13 outfield assists, second in the NL to New York's Cliff Floyd, who had 15.

All of those things and more came together in a season that Francoeur said "overshot his expectations."

"How many kids get a chance at age 21 to be able to do that, to play every day in the major leagues and then go to the playoffs?" Francoeur said.

Reach Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.