Welcome to the DeFranco Post!
Baseball and Football, and Life, with a Philly bent
DeFrancoPost.com / ChrisDeFranco.com
(Updated site coming soon!)
Hey there. I'm DeFranco. And I post. My full name is Christiaan DeFranco. Most people call me Chris. Some folks call me other names when I’m not around.
I'm a Philadelphia native who prefers his Italian roast pork with sharp provolone and long hots on a seeded Sarcone’s roll.
I'm a writer, journalist, and occasional cartoonist. I employ the Oxford comma on a case-by-case basis. I’m into baseball, football, and comfortable shoes.
I cover the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Phillies for MediaNews Group/Tribune Publishing in the Philly metro market, which in this case includes most of Eastern PA and South Jersey. The company owns 77 daily publications, big and small, throughout the United States, including a dozen or so in this region.
On this site, you’ll find regularly updated links to my work as well as some of my favorite and most popular clips.
Credentials: National award-winning writer and journalist covering the Eagles, Phillies and other sports in the Philadelphia metro market for MediaNews Group.
In my 20-plus years in journalism, I've covered professional and college sports, major crime, government corruption, the 2016 elections in Florida, Hurricane Matthew, mismanagement in the healthcare system, music, religion, and many other subjects.
I've made numerous radio and podcast appearances through the years. My columns and investigative work have garnered recognition from the Associated Press, Keystone Press Association, Columbia University, FS1 (Fox Sports 1 television), ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and 1210-WPHT AM Philadelphia.
What is this site all about anyway?
I believe in the stolen base, the hit-and-run, and pressuring the defense by putting the ball in play. I believe we’re enduring the Analytics Era of baseball, in which statistics are both overused and misused, and I can prove it. And I believe Bill Walsh is the greatest coach in NFL history.
Also, despite the ESPNification of sports language, the correct plural form of “RBI” is “RBIs” — with an “s” (except in box scores and other agate, of course). Everyone knows that Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are two of the best looking stars in Hollywood, but not everyone recognizes they're also two of the greatest actors of our time. And if Ivan Rodriguez is in the Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds should be too.
By the way, when are we getting a sequel to “The Nice Guys”?
Among my favorite career highlights so far, I covered Matt Cain when he was drafted in the first round out of high school by the San Francisco Giants, where he went on to win two World Series, was named to three All-Star teams, and threw a perfect game. I covered John Calipari when he was rehabbing his career at the University of Memphis. I covered the Memphis Grizzlies. I interviewed John Chaney one-on-one and a grumpy Allen Iverson one-on-one.
I covered the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024-25 championship season, including their spectacular Super Bowl win in New Orleans. I’ve done press interviews with Michael Jordan, Larry Brown, Larry Bowa, Rob Thomson, Bryce Harper, Nick Sirianni, Howie Roseman, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and a long list of other Eagles and Phillies players, coaches and staff.
My coverage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, with inside reporting and commentary that went against the media frenzy, was picked up nationally and included appearances on ESPN Radio.
I also covered the 2016 elections in Florida and Hurricane Matthew. I’ve covered high-profile murder trials, government corruption, mismanagement in the healthcare system and tons of other stuff.
That’s a chunk of my professional resume. My hobbies include film and music. I’ve seen U2 in concert 18 times. I was the lead singer and lyricist for a two-man band in college. (My total lack of singing ability didn’t deter me!)
I’ve seen every episode of the original “The Office” at least 12,689,487 times and probably as many episodes of “Seinfeld” (through season 7, after which Larry David left). I like all kinds of standup comedy, and I love my dog Sam.
Below is a mug of me.
In the late 2000s, I founded a self-hosted website called the Philly Sports Journal, which a few of you might remember. It was extensive and steadily grew for three years, but started becoming a full-time job (and I already had a full-time job). So, rather than trying to continue it without adequate time to meet my own standards, I decided to end it.
Hopefully you’ll like what’s posted here.
