At 55, Julio Franco can still play baseball

Atlanta Braves

Former Atlanta Braves Julio Franco returned the playing field this week at age 55 as a player-coach for the Fort Worth Cats of the independent United League during the team's season-opening nine-game homestand.

Julio Franco stretches before his at-bat against the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings in Forth Worth, Texas, Tuesday, May 20, 2014. At 49, Franco was the oldest active player in the majors when he played his last game for the Atlanta Braves in 2007.

Julio Franco, a three-time All-Star and former American League batting champion, went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored Tuesday night.

Julio Franco, a first baseman, has played parts of 23 major-league seasons for eight teams from 1982-2007, with stints in Japan, Mexico and South Korea. A .298 career hitter, Franco totaled 2,586 hits, 173 homers, 1,194 RBI and 281 stolen bases in the majors.

Julio Franco, who has played parts of 23 major league seasons for eight teams from 1982-2007, has 4,200 hits in professional baseball. He has now played professionally in five decades, starting in the minors in 1978 at age 19.

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