Andruw Jones has finally been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, ending a long wait for the great center fielder. He can now join his many former Braves teammates in Cooperstown.
The 48-year-old received the news of his election on January 20. He needed to be included on 319 of the 425 ballots cast (75 percent) to reach the required threshold and was fortunate to secure 333 votes, or 78.4 percent.
“To be honest, when I was playing, I never thought about possibly going to the Hall of Fame,” Jones told MLB. “I played the game because I love it. I played the game because I wanted to win. I played the game because I wanted to help my team win.”
“I mean, we grew up playing baseball so much down there, that’s all we knew since we grew up — we wanted to play baseball,” Jones also told ESPN. “[To be] the first player to make it from Curacao, it’s a great honor. And I know we’re going to have more people coming.”
According to MLB, he will be inducted on July 26 in Cooperstown, alongside fellow electees Carlos Beltrán and Jeff Kent. Kent was chosen by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.
Jones and Beltrán, who were born only a day apart in April 1977, are only the third and fourth center fielders respectively to be elected since 1981, following Kirby Puckett and Ken Griffey Jr.
Willie Mays, during batting practice, told Braves phenom Jones he was the best center fielder Mays had ever seen, symbolically passing the crown to Jones.
“Willie Mays was the greatest center fielder of all time,” Jones stated. “So for him to tell me that was a great honor. I took it to heart and wanted to be the best at my position.”
Jones’s election to the Hall of Fame marks a celebration of the Braves’ most successful period. He was on the team for 10 of their 14 consecutive division titles, which ran from 1991 to 2005. His Hall of Fame teammates from that time are Greg Maddux (inducted in 2014), Tom Glavine (2014), John Smoltz (2015), Chipper Jones (2018), and Fred McGriff (2023).
He will be enshrined alongside his former manager, Bobby Cox (Class of 2014), and former Atlanta general manager, John Schuerholz (2017). While Jones’ most successful period was with Atlanta from 1996 to 2007, his career also included time with the Dodgers (2008), Rangers (2009), White Sox (2010), and Yankees (2011–12).
Jones seemed destined for stardom in 1996, when he homered in his first two career World Series plate appearances. He was a bright-eyed 19-year-old phenom in the second inning of Game 1, when he took Andy Pettitte deep to become the youngest player to homer in a World Series game.
Andruw Jones showed immense promise immediately, hitting a home run in each of his first two World Series plate appearances in 1996. At just 19 years old, the bright-eyed phenom made history in the second inning of Game 1 when he launched a ball off Andy Pettitte, becoming the youngest player ever to homer in a World Series game.
Almost three decades later, he still holds the distinction of being the only teenager to hit a home run in the World Series.
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Jones started his World Series career with home runs in his first two plate appearances, a feat only matched by Gene Tenace. He quickly became an elite defensive player, helping the Braves reach the World Series again in 1999 and drawing the decisive bases-loaded walk in the NLCS.
His best season was 2005, when he hit 51 home runs, becoming the first Brave to surpass 50. A five-time All-Star, Jones had seven 30-homer seasons, totaling 434 homers, but his defense was his true difference-maker.
Just five outfielders, Andruw Jones, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Willie Mays, and Ken Griffey Jr., have entered the Hall of Fame with 10 or more Gold Glove Awards.
While winning those 10 consecutive Gold Gloves with Atlanta from 1998-2007, Jones ranked third among all MLB players with a 57.6 bWAR, behind only Alex Rodriguez (80) and Barry Bonds (71). Chipper Jones, Todd Helton, and Albert Pujols each produced a 54.9 mark during this decade-long stretch.
Jones was elected to the Hall of Fame based on his elite defense. From 1998 to 2007, his 24.2 defensive WAR was significantly higher than that of other Hall of Famers, and his 57.6 bWAR ranked third in MLB. His dominant early success with the Braves secured his election, despite a later career decline and low ballot retention in 2018 and 2019.
