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Atlanta Braves: 5 Reasons Andruw Jones Belongs in MLB Hall of Fame

By Jake Mastroianni

22 Oct 1996: Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves catches a ball during Game Three of the World Series against the New York Yankees at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Yankees won the game, 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
22 Oct 1996: Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves catches a ball during Game Three of the World Series against the New York Yankees at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Yankees won the game, 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /
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ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 02: Former Atlanta Braves player Andruw Jones is introduced as a member of the All Turner Field Team prior to the game at Turner Field on October 2, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 02: Former Atlanta Braves player Andruw Jones is introduced as a member of the All Turner Field Team prior to the game at Turner Field on October 2, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /

He Deserves to Be In

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I know I’m speaking from the standpoint of a Braves fan who might be a little biased, but the bottom line is that Andruw Jones deserves to be in the MLB Hall of Fame.

In the past I’ve been as strict to say that if you aren’t a first ballot Hall of Famer, then you aren’t a Hall of Famer, so I really think you have to earn your way into Cooperstown.

And I’ve never felt as strongly about someone needing to get in as I do about Andruw Jones. In my opinion, he is getting a raw deal because of the way his career ended, and people are forgetting just how great he was for an entire decade.

Again, if you didn’t watch Andruw Jones every night as I did, you may not have realized how valuable he was to those Braves teams in the late 90s and early 2000s. And that in itself is a problem with the Hall of Fame voting because there is no way all of those voters watched Andruw Jones nightly. If they did, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

For whatever reason, Andruw’s contributions to those Braves teams were overshadowed by the ‘big three’ pitchers and Chipper. They got all of the media attention, rightfully so, and Andruw just did his thing in the outfield.

Another reason Ozzie Smith was so popular is because he was the main guy on those Cardinals team, and he was a polarizing figure.

Andruw shouldn’t be punished because he was possibly the fifth best player on a great team. That doesn’t make him any less deserving of the Hall of Fame.

This whole process has really made me want to give up on the MLB Hall of Fame. It doesn’t make sense why certain qualifications are good enough for some players, but not others.

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And if Andruw Jones doesn’t end up in Cooperstown some day, it will be a huge disappointment for the game of baseball and the history of this game. To leave out possibly the best defensive center fielder of all-time would be a travesty to the sport.

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