Baseball Star Jeff Francoeur Tries Win Opponent’s Fans by Sending 20 Pizzas

Baseball Star Jeff Francoeur Tries Win Opponent’s Fans by Sending 20 Pizzas

Jeff Francoeur could be a champion in winning friends and influencing people, even to opponent’s fans in the bleachers at Oakland Athletics games.

Francoeur, Kansas City Royals outfielder, treated the opponent’s fans sitting in the right-field grandstand at the Oakland Coliseum with 20 pizzas delivered to them Wednesday afternoon. Along with it is a signed bat, with a personal message inscribed, which is quite a gift package.

These unusual friendly gestures started a season ago when a group in the opposite bleachers decided to celebrate "Bacon Tuesday" by bringing homemade bacon-flavored eats to the ballpark. With the Royals in town, fans also made Francoeur the center of good-natured heckling, who, being the right fielder, was closest to them. Inevitably, Francoeur got close with the crowd – he would wave, shout back and laugh along – that after the game he went over for a meet and greet.

An opponent’s fan had saved Francoeur a plate of bacon goodies. And, apparently, Jeff Francoeur loves bacon!

The next night, after spotting his new BFFs, he responded the affection by throwing a signed baseball into the stands with a $100 bill wrapped in a rubber band. The note read: "Beer or Bacon Dog on me. Jeff Francoeur."

Well, Tuesday night was the second annual Bacon Tuesday, so the event became more festive and somebody made T-shirts with Francoeur's name on them, claiming him to be the event's "sponsor." Francoeur stopped by again and fans gave him treats – perhaps some chocolate bacon or bacon cheesecake – along with a shirt. You can see how elated he was when he showed the shirt to his teammates!

On Wednesday, Francoeur paid back the fans again. It was pizza delivery time, along with a bat, again signed by Francoeur.

The world is making a lot of fun of Jeff Francoeur because they say he'll swing and throw aimlessly. But he obviously loves playing the game, feels rewarded interacting with the fans, and eats his share of bacon. That's an excellent combination of qualities, isn't it?  That’s why he’s one of the crowd’s favorite, even with the opponent’s fans.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday April 13 2012, 3:51 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0