By the time Franco joined the Braves late in 2001, he already had 1,891 major-league games with six different teams under his belt, plus over 500 more in Mexico, Japan, and Korea. He had established himself as one of the better hitters in the league when he won the batting title in 1991, and was an All-Star three years straight (1989-91).
When the Braves came calling, Franco was playing in Mexico and the team needed a first baseman who could hit; Rico Brogna (.248/.297/.335), Ken Caminiti (.222/.306/.380), and Wes Helms (.222/.293/.435) simply were not getting the job done.