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Thursday, October 30, 2008
Andruw: Once and future Brave?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Staff photos by Hyosub Shin
Former Atlanta Brave Andruw Jones would like to come back home.
“I’ve got one more year in my contract,” said Jones, now playing with the L.A. Dodgers. “Hopefully, I can come back to Atlanta. I would love to finish my career here.”
Jones’ first year with the Dodgers ended early. He was moved to the 60-day disabled list on Sept. 13, after hitting .158 with three homers and 76 strikeouts in 209 at-bats.
“I’ve been rehabbing, working out again,” he said. “I feel good.”
Jones and wife Nicole have continued to make metro Atlanta their home. They’re gearing up for this year’s “Fairway Affair,” the gala they host each year to support Jaden’s Ladder. The organization serves survivors of domestic violence.
Fairway, held at a private residence in Buckhead, starts at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8. Tickets are $300 each and they’re going fast - really fast. JL co-founder Oneta Bobbett received a steady stream of requests for the few remaining tickets during our chat Thursday morning. If you want to go, hustle.
This year’s goal is $250,000, which Bobbett feels sure they’ll meet. She credited the Jones’ involvement with making the event a success each year.
“I’ve got so much respect for my mom,” Jones said, explaining his passion for the cause. “My mom kept me on that straight path.”
Jones and his wife met with three Jaden’s Ladder scholarship recipients Thursday morning in their Sugarloaf Country Club home. This year’s group included brothers Latrell Mitchell, 22, and Jamal Mitchell, 20, both of Decatur; and Cheryl Smart of Temple.
Latrell Mitchell is pursuing a degree in audio production at the Art Institute of Atlanta. Jamal Mitchell is working on a degree in homeland security and emergency management at Savannah State University and wants to go on to law school.
Mitchell plans to study at West Central Tech to become a registered nurse. She said living through her ordeal and working with Jaden’s Ladder has taught her, “You don’t have to live in fear.”
Roxanne Mitchell, Jamal and Latrell’s mom, could relate.
“It does get better,” she said of the difficult journey she and her sons lived through. “There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nicole and Andruw Jones, from left, with scholarship recipients Latrell and Jamal Mitchell.
While the scholarship recipients met with Andruw Jones, Nicole Jones swooped in to scoop up Latrell’s 7-month-old, Arriana. The Jones’ son Druw is about to turn 5 and is looking forward to Halloween. The home’s spooky decor - a chain around the mailbox, plastic bats in the trees - as well as the mountain of candy in the kitchen, indicates everyone’s getting ready for trick-or-treating.
“I’m going as myself,” Jones joked.
He said it’s been tough adjusting to a new team, and misses the guys from the Braves clubhouse. For now, his goal is to return to Los Angeles healthy and “finish strong.”
“When it’s time to be done, it’s time to be done,” Jones said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
As for life after baseball?
“I might want to go to work full-time for Oneta,” he said, smiling at Bobbett as she visited with Andruw and Nicole Thursday morning.
“I couldn’t pay you enough,” Bobbett cracked.
Oneta Bobbett, left, with Nicole and Andruw Jones
