BY Samir Ajy
This past Tuesday, Major League Baseball inducted three new members into its illustrious Hall
of Fame. Left-handed starting pitcher CC Sabathia and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki were the two
headliners, with Suzuki receiving 393 out of 394 possible votes. The third inductee was a former
Atlanta Brave. However, it was not the Braves player most expected. Closing pitcher Billy
Wagner, who spent the 2010 season in Atlanta (the final of his career), was the third inductee.
Most notably, former center fielder Andruw Jones, known for highlight reel-worthy catches, once
again did not get the call after receiving 66.2 percent of the vote, falling short of the 75 percent
required for induction. He has been on the ballot for the past eight years and has just two years
of eligibility remaining.
Throughout his 17-year career, 12 of which were in Atlanta, Jones produced a 24.4 defensive
WAR (Wins Above Replacement), the highest of any outfielder in MLB history. Moreover, his
235 defensive saved runs are the fourth most in MLB history. To accompany his five All-Star
Game selections, Jones won 10 Gold Gloves while also thriving at the plate, becoming just one
of four players ever to win at least 10 Gold Gloves and hit 400 career home runs. He hit at least
25 home runs in 10 straight seasons (1998-2007), including his 2005 Silver Slugger campaign,
in which he hit 51.
Furthermore, Jones won and won a lot, helping the Braves reach the World Series twice during
his tenure (1996 and 1999) and had signature moments during both playoff runs. In Game One
of the 1996 World Series, the then 19-year-old Jones hit two home runs in a 12-1 Atlanta win
over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. In Game Six of the 1999 NLCS (National
League Championship Series), the Braves led the series three games to two and were tied at
nine runs apiece with the New York Mets in the bottom of the tenth inning. With one out and the
bases loaded, Jones remained patient and drew a walk-off, bases-loaded walk, sending Atlanta
back to the World Series.
In 2023, the Atlanta Braves organization honored Andruw Jones by retiring his number 25, a
decision many of the team’s fans saw as long overdue. Likewise, the time for voters to follow
suit and honor Jones by providing him a well-deserved spot in Cooperstown is long overdue and
should have happened years ago.
