ATLANTA — Andruw Jones has watched every of the previous eight Baseball Corridor of Fame election outcomes reveals whereas sitting on the identical sushi bar in Buckhead. Every of the previous few years, he has rolled out of the institution feeling extra optimistic.
Actually, there’s purpose for Jones to imagine this would possibly lastly be the 12 months he positive aspects baseball’s biggest honor. However as an alternative of getting overly excited, the previous Braves nice will try to keep up the poise he confirmed again in 1996, when — on the age of 19 — he homered in his first two profession World Sequence plate appearances.
“You simply by no means know what the vote goes to be or what’s going to occur,” Jones mentioned. “The primary few years I used to be [on the ballot], I didn’t actually put a lot thoughts to it. I’d watch and congratulate who bought in. However if you get nearer, you family and friends begin asking loads of questions, like, ‘Do you assume that is going to be the 12 months?’”
Jones and the baseball world will study this on Jan. 20, when the 2026 Corridor of Fame election outcomes are introduced on MLB Community. That is the ninth time the elite outfielder has appeared on the HOF poll. Candidates are faraway from the poll if they don’t obtain the required 75 % of the votes inside their first 10 years of eligibility.
“I look ahead to the announcement,” Jones mentioned. “I do yearly. However I simply don’t construct up an excessive amount of hope till it occurs.”
Jones hopes to increase a latest pattern that has seen the elections of gamers who acquired little help throughout their earliest years on the poll. Billy Wagner was elected throughout his tenth and last 12 months on the poll final 12 months. The previous nearer acquired lower than 11 % of the votes throughout his first 12 months of eligibility and didn’t obtain greater than 20 % throughout any of his first 4 years. However his vote totals over his last three years of eligibility jumped from 68.1 (in 2023) to 73.8 (in 2024) to 82.5 (in 2025).
Jones’ vote share over the previous three years has risen from 58.1 to 61.6 to 66.2. His help among the many Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America voters has considerably grown since he acquired lower than 8% of the vote throughout his first two years on the poll.
Scott Rolen skilled the same trajectory within the few years main as much as his 2023 election, receiving 10.2% in 2018, 17.2% in ‘19, 35.3% in ‘20, 52.9% in ‘21, 63.2% in ‘22 and 76.3% in ’23.
With Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun the highest newcomers on subsequent 12 months’s poll, there’s a particular likelihood Jones may draw 10 % extra of the votes and be a part of former Braves teammates Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz within the Corridor of Fame. His former Atlanta supervisor Bobby Cox and basic supervisor John Schuerholz have additionally been inducted.
How loopy is it that Andruw has needed to wait so lengthy to be elected?
“It’s actually loopy,” Chipper Jones mentioned. “Throughout a 10-year stretch, he gained 10 Gold Gloves, averaged 30 homers a 12 months and I’m positive he had round a thousand RBIs. Anyone with these numbers and credentials is within the Corridor of Fame. The most effective defenders at their positions are in. Andruw was one of many prime two or three, the perfect in my view, to ever play heart discipline.”
Jones, Ichiro Suzuki and 4 present Corridor of Famers — Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. — are the one outfielders to ever win 10 Gold Glove Awards.
Whereas successful these 10 consecutive Gold Gloves with Atlanta from 1998-2007, Jones ranked third amongst all MLB gamers with a 57.6 bWAR, behind solely Alex Rodriguez (80) and Barry Bonds (71). Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Albert Pujols every produced a 54.9 mark throughout this decade-long stretch.
Andruw Jones had seven 30-homer seasons, together with an MLB-best 51-homer marketing campaign in 2005. However what actually set him aside was the defensive excellence that has led many to proceed to think about him to be the perfect heart fielder the sport has ever seen.
Jones had a 24.2 defensive WAR from 1998-2007. The subsequent closest gamers have been Corridor of Famers Rolen (15.1) and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez (13.5).
Yeah, there was a steep decline late in Jones’ profession. He had only a 95 OPS+ as he performed for the Dodgers, White Sox, Rangers and Yankees throughout his last 5 seasons (2008-12). Which means he wasn’t even a mean offensive participant (100 OPS+) as he progressed by means of his early 30s.
However Jones captured the baseball world’s consideration at age 19 and spent the subsequent decade proving to be elite. If leeway is given to a participant who debuts at 23 after which begins to say no of their mid-30s, then shouldn’t the identical grace be given to Jones, who was elite offensively and defensively for a complete decade?
