Braves legend Andruw Jones begins journey to Hall of Fame induction
A season of celebrating Andruw Jones is well underway and continued Thursday when the newly anointed member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame was front and center at a news conference in Cooperstown, New York. Jones, with fellow inductee-elect Carlos Beltrán, was introduced as part of the Hall’s 2026 class alongside previously announced member Jeff Kent.
“Never dreamed about being (in the) Hall of Fame. The dream was just to be a good baseball player and help my team win. And that’s all I did my whole career,” Jones said. “Through all that, put up consistent numbers and now I’m here at this podium, and to be part of this group and this great legacy and being with Carlos Beltrán that I admired from a distance (when) we competed against each other for so many years, to be in the same class with him is a great honor.”
One of only three center fielders ever to win 10 Gold Glove awards (Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. being the other two), Jones will be honored during the Hall’s annual summer ceremony scheduled for July 26. Between now and then, and for some time after as well, Jones’ career will be celebrated.
The Braves announced Thursday that Jones will be in attendance at the club’s annual Braves Fest at Truist Park on Jan. 31.
“Thank you to the writers, the Hall of Fame, family, fans, the Atlanta Braves who gave me that big opportunity to chase my dream to get here at this moment,” Jones said Thursday.
The first member of the Hall of Fame to have been born in Curaçao, Jones’ name first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot nine years ago. He received only 7.3% of votes to be elected.
Jones said every year since, on the night the Hall of Fame announces its newest class of members, he went out for sushi and sake. Last year, thinking he might finally get the call, he stayed at home, then joked he really needed some of that sake when it was revealed he had missed the cut yet again.
But on Tuesday, the moment finally came, and Jones celebrated in the Dominican Republic, where he had been competing in a golf tournament earlier that day.
“Just to be on the ballot is a great honor. To hang in there from 7% to be up here today and be inducted in the Hall of Fame is such a thing that — you don’t dream to be a Hall of Famer, you dream to be a major league baseball player. And be consistent. And go out there and help your team and try to win a championship,” Jones said. “I got a chance to play for a great organization that gave me a chance to go out there and show my talent and help them win.”
Jones, 48, received 78.4% of the vote on the writers’ ballots this voting cycle. He’ll be enshrined in Cooperstown after hitting 434 career home runs, driving in 1,289 runs and finishing with a .254 batting average.
His offensive prowess was, however, not as impressive as his defensive wizardry. No outfielder in the history of the game has a better defensive WAR than Jones, a defender who reached fly balls seemingly destined to be doubles but instead died in the glove of Jones.
“The saying two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water and the other third is covered by Andruw is pretty apropos,” said former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Chippers Jones on 680 The Fan on Wednesday.
Said former Braves pitcher and Hall of Famer Tom Glavine on 680 The Fan on Tuesday: “I think if there was one thing that separated him from everybody else, was that ability to get a jump on the ball. I’ve heard so many people talk about him and describe him as it almost seemed like he was moving in the right direction before the ball came off the bat. I just think that was his ability to get a read and get a jump. He just made it look so effortless.”
Jones is one of eight Hall of Famers from the Braves’ great era of the 1990s, joining Glavine, Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff, Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz. Jones’ 17-year MLB career also included stints with the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees.
But it was in Atlanta where he rose to prominence and formed a career that will now be immortalized with the rest of the game’s greatest.
“For me, this is a top honor. All the Silver Sluggers, the Gold Gloves, the championship, I think this is the top of the thing,” Jones added. “There’s so many guys that you idolize growing up that you play with and they end up making it to the Hall of Fame, and you’re gonna get a chance to be around them, and guys that are no longer with us and be in the same class, in the same ballpark, I think it’s a great honor.”
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