Longtime Braves star is trending toward Hall
One of the greatest center fielders in baseball history, Andruw Jones has a fascinating Hall of Fame case. Jones’ election looked unlikely just a few years ago when he garnered a mere 7.3% of the vote in his first attempt, but he continues to close in on immortality.
Jones became a household name as a 19-year-old, the youngest player to homer in the World Series, hitting two in Game 1 against the New York Yankees in 1996. That night in the Bronx set high expectations for the Curaçao native, who lived up to them for the next decade.
Jones won 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1998 to 2007, a defensive wizard for an Atlanta Braves team that won the division in each of their center fielder’s first 10 seasons. Jones finished his career with 434 home runs, including a franchise-record 51 in 2005.
Entering his sixth year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, Jones’ support has surged and he now appears to have a pathway to Cooperstown a few years from now.
Why he belongs in the Hall
Jones is one of only four players to have won 10 Gold Gloves with 400 career home runs. The others are Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt and Ken Griffey Jr.
The center fielder’s 24.2 defensive WAR from 1998 to 2007 was the best in the game, with future Hall of Famer Scott Rolen’s 15.1 a not-so-close second. In that stretch, Jones’ total 57.6 WAR was third in baseball behind only Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds.
Where he doesn’t stack up
Jones was a much likelier Hall of Famer in the mid-2000s, but his rapid decline
began around his 30th birthday. After Jones hit 51 home runs with a .922 OPS in 2005, his OPS dropped all the way to .724 by 2007, the year he won his final
Gold Glove award.
Over Jones’ last five seasons (200812), he hit .210 with the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees, only once playing more than 100 games.