Franklin posted a 0-1 record for his short cup-of-coffee in September of 1971 at the age of only 18, throwing 5.2 innings with one start and a 6.35 earned run average.
Though he would pitch in the Padres minor league system through the 1977 season, he’d never make it back up to the big leagues again.
It’s somewhat significant since Franklin was the #2 overall pick in the 1971 amateur draft, after the White Sox pick of High School catcher Danny Goodwin, who didn’t sign and would be a #1 overall pick AGAIN four years later.
You’d have to scroll down to the 13th pick that year to really find a success, that being pitcher Frank Tanana, picked by the California Angels.
Two picks later, you really find a pick for the ages when the Boston Red Sox took a kid named Jim Rice, who of course would go on to a Hall of Fame career.
Sadly for the Padres however, their pick didn’t pan out, which was a frequent theme for them in the decade aside for Dave Winfield in 1973.
