No player garnered the necessary 75 percent of votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America to earn induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, according to an announcement from the Baseball Hall of Fame.
While this is rare, it has happened 10 other times since the First Class was voted in back in 1934. I could certainly go into my usual diatribe about how much I despise some of the sportswriters and how some of them are angry little men who, in many cases, write about a sport they never played and for some reason feel the need to note vote for even the most deserving players.
I will just use, arguably, the three greatest players of all-time to illustrate my point. Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron are members of a group of 128 players who did not get 100 percent of the votes for induction. Ruth was left off the ballot by 11 of the 226 writers, Aaron was 9 votes shy of a unanimous vote, and 23 writers felt the need to leave Mays off their ballots.
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I do not think a lengthy prison sentence is harsh enough punishment for the writers who left these three legends off their ballot, but at least bar them from ever voting again. This is one of the many flaws in the Baseball Hall of Fame voting process, and I could spend hours writing about those flaws. Instead, I wanted to focus on a player who was up for induction this year that most people in this area are very familiar with…former Atlanta Braves Star Andruw Jones.
Andruw Jones was on the ballot for the fourth time in 2021. After receiving no more than 7.5 percent of the vote his first two years of eligibility, Jones garnered 19 percent of the vote in 2020. That was an increase, but still far from the necessary 75 percent needed.
This year his number went up again as he received 136 votes (33 percent). That still meant that over 270 baseball writers did not deem him worthy of the Hall of Fame. I truly have to question what these writers were watching between 1995-2006, because it was not baseball. You can debate whether Jones is a first ballot Hall of Famer. You can even debate if he deserves to be in at all, but the paltry numbers he has received the last four years is embarrassingly low for someone many believe to be the best defensive outfielder to ever play the game…
This is something Braves Fans have gone through before with fan favorite and second-time National League MVP Dale Murphy. In my opinion, both should be in, but Jones has an even better case than Murphy.
In 1995, I was offered a chance to assist with the radio broadcasts of the Augusta Pirates (now the Augusta Green Jackets). I was traveling to Macon for a doubleheader and would be on the air for just the second time in my life. I had heard that Macon had a young prospect that was special. He was 17 years old, ranked as the No. 1 prospect in all of minor league baseball, and his name was…Andruw Jones. You can imagine my disappointment when I was told he had the flu and was not playing.
Following game one, we got word that Jones begged his way into the lineup for game two, and the teenager, barely old enough to drive legally, more than lived up to the hype. He certainly looked the part and exuded athleticism. He floated around the outfield, and at the plate the ball jumped off his bat and simply sounded different than his teammates. He went three for four at the late game with a home run, two doubles, two stolen bases, three runs scored and four RBI. He also added a highlight reel defensive play in centerfield, too.
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I was instantly a fan. Jones would go on to the finish the season hitting .277 with 25 home runs, 100 RBIs, 104 runs scored, 41 doubles and 56 stolen bases. He was the runaway choice as USA Today’s Minor League Player of the Year. The following year he would become just the second player ever to repeat as Minor League Player of the Year as he hit .339, blasted 34 homers, drove in 92 runs, and scored 115 runs in just 445 at bats.
Jones was a September called up by the Braves that season and was even added to the squad’s post-season roster. Something almost unheard of, especially for a player who just turned 19 years old. He would make his presence felt quickly by becoming the youngest player to homer in a World Series when he launched a homer in his first World Series at bat off Yankees Legend Andy Pettite. He would also crush another long ball in his next at bat. It was clear this kid was special. A few months later he would be named the Braves starting centerfielder for the 1997 season. He used his incredible natural instincts and athleticism to quickly establish himself as one of the game’s top young prospects and best defensive players. He would soon begin piling up awards and accomplishments that even some in the Hall of Fame would envy.
- 10 Consecutive Gold Glove Awards as the best defensive player at his position (From 1998-2007)
- The youngest player to homer in a World Series (19 years old)
- The youngest ylayer in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs
- The Braves franchise records for home runs in a season with 51 in 2005 (breaking Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews’ record)
- A five-time National League All-Star
- Second in NL MVP Voting in 2005 when he hit 51 HR and drove in 128 runs
- 2005 Silver Slugger Award as the best hitter at his position
- The highest defensive WAR of any outfielder in the history of MLB (by a wide margin)
- No. 1 in history in “Runs from Field” with 234.7, which is 50 runs better than Willie Mays who is in second place
- Fifth All-Time in Career Home Runs by a centerfielder with 434 Mays, Griffey, and Mantle are 3 of the centerfielders ahead of him)
- 1,289 Career RBI, 1,204 career runs scored and just under 2,000 career hits
Jones was so good defensively, his Hall of Fame teammate once said he did not care if Jones hit .200 every year, he would still be his starting centerfielder.
“Andruw has got to save each starter 10 runs a season” added Maddux.
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Former big-league catcher and long-time announcer Tim McCarver also marveled at Jones’s defensive prowess. McCarver, known to be a very harsh critic of today’s players, said, “You cannot hit a ball over his head. If it is over his head, it is out of the park.”
Another consideration would be comparing Jones with a couple of outfielders who have recently gained entry in the Hall. Harold Baines is in despite never finishing in the top eight in MVP voting. He also played five more seasons than Jones but has 50 fewer home runs and was not even close in terms of defensive ability.
Larry Walker was voted in by the Writers last year. He hit for a much better average than Jones and was outstanding defensively. However, he won two fewer Gold Gloves, has 51 fewer home runs and similar runs scored and RBI numbers all while benefitting from playing in the thin air of Colorado for much of his career. If these two guys are in the Hall of Fame, Andruw Jones deserves to be in as well. And he definitely deserves more than 33 percent of the vote.
Were there negatives that are holding Jones out? Sure…he carried only a .254 lifetime batting average and struck out a lot. He also never really improved on these two facets of the game. There is no question this led him to frustrate Braves fans from time-to-time, but some of the frustration stemmed from the fact that he was so highly touted. Jones was thought to not have a weakness as a player. He was thought to be a generational talent. So, for some, they feel like he wasted an opportunity to go down as one of the all-time greats. That can certainly be a consideration and a reason some people would not vote him in, but when you factor in his entire body of work and consider that he may be the best, at his position, all-time in a very important aspect of the game, I cannot fathom him not getting more serious consideration.
The good news is, Jones can stay on the ballot for six more years. He has a long way to go to achieve the 75 percent threshold, but at least he will be in the discussion for 10 more years. After that, it is up to the MLB Veterans Committee to decide his fate. I truly think he eventually gets into the Hall, but it would be a shame if he is not voted in.
Also, those of you enjoyed watching Jones roam the outfield over the years may get a touch of de ja vu in a few years. Andruw’s son, Andruw Jones Jr., is a recent Vanderbilt baseball commitment and considered one of the Top 10 high school prospects for the Class of 2022.
Ashley Brown covers sports for The Augusta Press. Reach him at Ashley.brown@theaugustapress.com
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