Hello!

Spring training has come to an end and we're getting eager for the home opener. The official MLB Opening Day was Sunday, April 5, but we won't actually go back to Turner Field for our home opener until tomorrow, April 10.

Turner Field is very special to me since I grew up in the Atlanta area and have been following the Braves since I was a kid. But overall, it's just a really unique ballpark, period. So I thought I'd make this blog Jeff Francoeur's Guide to Opening Day at Turner Field.

First, if you've got kids, this is a great experience for them. Just inside the North gates is Tooner Field, which is a cool interactive area with characters and games from the Cartoon Network. Also for the kids is Scouts Alley near the West Pavillion of the Grand Entry Plaza where kids can test their throwing skills, learn about different pitches and see different gloves and bats.

For the adults, there's the ampm All You Can Eat seats, which are a new concept at the stadium as of last season. Personally, this is where I would sit if I were watching the game as a fan. These tickets range from $45-80, but include everything you can stomach through seven innings.

If you're over the age of 21, you have to check out the ChopHouse. Just about any night of the week, the ChopHouse is the place to see and be seen. It's located directly above the Braves bullpen in right field, so fans can eat and drink while enjoying the game from right above me.

Just about every park has its own unique feature that makes it stand out. The old Shea Stadium had the Home Run Apple, Miller Park has the slide that Bernie Brewer slides down, and Dodger Stadium has the Think Blue sign in the mountains. When I look out at the Turner Field from the dugout, I always see the huge Delta letters above left field. And then there's the gigantic Coca Cola bottle next to it that shoots out fireworks every time a Braves player hits a home run.

But the newest feature, which was added last year, is the massive Chik-Fil-A cow on top of the stadium, which has a mechanical arm that does the 'tomahawk chop' during games. It is 40 feet high and weighs over 15,000 lbs.

If you want to get the entire Braves experience from beginning to end, be sure to get to the park early. You can come watch us take batting practice 2 1/2 hours before each home game. The visiting team will come out an hour later for their batting practice. If you're looking to catch a baseball, there are a lot of home run balls that escape over the outfield wall during this time. And it's a great time to see all of the players in their element getting stretched and prepared for the game.

Speaking of foul balls and home run balls, here's a little known fact about Turner Field. If you're in the right place at the right time and you're the lucky fan to catch a baseball at a game, you can go to the Guest Relations window by Aisle 146 with your ball and they will give you an official "Grandstand Fielder" certificate.

And of course, if you're a big enough fan to travel across the country on Delta and see your favorite team play, there are some really exciting celebrations and events that take place on Opening Day at all the ballparks around the country.

Hello again from spring training.

Spring training is always such a great time of year. It's the time where every team has a fresh start and comes in with high hopes for the upcoming season. I took the first couple weeks here to really work on my swing and get my hitting down. Almost two weeks to the day, things really started clicking and I had several productive days in a row. Now my timing feels great and I feel like I'm ready to go.

And then there's the golf. Being in Florida, there are some of the best golf courses around. Since we have early afternoon games most days, I've been able to get up in the morning, workout and get ready, play the game, and still manage to fit some golf in a few days a week.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to play with my former teammate John Smoltz and Tiger Woods. In fact, it's sort of become our spring training ritual, to all get together and play at least once during the spring. It is a pretty cool experience to get out there with an incredible athlete like Tiger, but I think I was able show him a thing or two.

Another great thing about spring training is being in Orlando. Not only do the Braves get to play in one of the nicest facilities in the Grapefruit League, but we're literally stationed right on the Walt Disney World property at Disney's Wide World of Sports. It's especially fun for all of the players who have kids. But even though my wife Catie and I don't have any kids yet, we've gone to the theme parks a few times to act like kids and ride the rides ourselves.

For those of you who don't know, there are currently 17 Major League Baseball teams who train in Florida, called the Grapefruit League, and 13 teams who train in Arizona, called the Cactus League. Orlando, where the Braves are located, is the furthest north location of all the Grapefruit teams. And unlike the teams in Arizona, our teams are spread out all across central and south Florida.

Because of the space between all of us, we do a lot of traveling on the road (instead of flying) this time of year. It takes us all back to our days in the minor leagues, where we travelled everywhere on busses and always wished we could just hop on a Delta flight. But that's part of your rite of passage. Luckily, the farthest destination we travel during spring training is to the Cardinals and Mets facility down in Jupiter, which is less than a three hour bus ride.

When we have been at home in Orlando and not out on the road, Catie and I have had a lot of family in town to visit. They've literally taken Delta flights in from all over the country to come see us. It has mostly been Catie's family so far, but my parents are coming down this week and I can't wait to see them. Also, my agent Molly Fletcher from Career Sports & Entertainment flies down from Atlanta often and we all get to spend time together.

Overall, it's been an exciting spring, but I can't wait for the season to start in next week. But until then, we've got a couple big games coming up this Saturday with the Yankees, and Red Sox, so I'm going to focus in on that for now.