It Looked Like Forever

AUG. 13, 1991
Ron Kittle plays his last game.

DEC. 29, 1991
Attends church with his brother in the Dominican Republic and becomes a born-again Christian. He soon swears off booze, cigarettes and the fast life: "I didn't think I'd live to be 30."

DEC. 28, 1994
Signs to play in Japan. He plays five seasons in Japan, Korea and Mexico, costing himself a shot at 3,000 big league hits. Still he has no regrets about his time in Japan (below): "People [there] respect their elders."

AUG. 31, 2001
Braves G.M. John Schuerholz signs Franco, who had been hitting .437 in Mexico but had just one major league appearance since 1997. Manager Bobby Cox's reaction: "My God, is he still around?"

APRIL 6, 2004
Still a Brave, Franco becomes, at 45, the oldest regular nonpitcher in history, surpassing Cap Anson.

FEB. 28, 2006
During a breakfast interview with The New York Times, Franco ingests 20 egg whites, part of his six-meal, 5,000-calorie-a-day, junk-food-free diet: "I walk by bakeries, see things that look good, smell good, but I know I don't need that cheesecake."

APRIL 20, 2006
Now a Met, Franco becomes, at 47, the oldest player to hit a major league homer.

SEPT. 30, 2006
A sculpted, 210-pound Franco homers off Beltran Perez.