In 2023, former Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones will be one of the top returning players to the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot after David Ortiz, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, and Sammy Sosa were inducted or fell off of the 2022 MLB Hall of Fame ballot.
Jones is one of the best players to ever play for the Atlanta Braves and he was a huge part of them reaching the postseason every year from 1996 (his first year) and 2005. That’s why the Braves should finally retire Jones’ number 25.
The Atlanta Braves should retire Andruw Jones’ number 25
Andruw Jones was one of the best players ever for the Atlanta Braves and in their best span in franchise history.
Jones played with the Braves for parts of 12 seasons and he was one of the best defensive outfielders in the game as he won 10 Gold Gloves while with the Braves. He was an All-Star five times, won a Silver Slugger Award, and got MVP votes five times, including an eighth-place finish in 2000 and a second-place finish in 2005.
From 1998 (his second full MLB season) through 2006, Jones averaged 35 home runs, 104 RBI, a .270/.347/.513 slash line, and an OPS+ of 119. He accumulated an rWAR of 54.5 in that span, for an average of 6.1 rWAR per season.
He also played in 75 postseason games with the Braves and he hit .273/.365/.433 with 10 homers and 33 RBI.
Overall, by rWAR, Jones’ 61.0 rWAR with the Braves is 10th-highest. All of the players ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame and eight of the nine have their number retired by the Braves. The only player ahead of Jones’ that doesn’t have his number retired is Hall of Famer Kid Nichols … who played so long ago that they didn’t have uniform numbers.
Dale Murphy has his number retired by the Braves and he is not in the Hall of Fame and has a lower rWAR than Jones at 47.3.
But since Jones left the Braves after the 2007 season, the Braves have reissued his number to a staggering nine players. Currently, outfield prospect Cristian Pache is wearing the number after he wore number 14 in 2020.
Jones will almost certainly get some more traction with the BBWAA in the Hall of Fame vote in 2023 and, perhaps, he will get into the Hall of Fame in the near future. It’s time that the Braves retire his number 25.