I am going to talk about something that is going to sound silly, but it is true. Former Atlanta Braves CF Andruw Jones was on the path to become a Hall of Famer. He was the next generation of star defensive CF and had put together a solid ten year run, where he was a consistent producer, known mostly for the home run ball. After the 2007 season; actually January 20th of 2008- Jones signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2 years and over $36 million. His $18.1 million in average annual value trailed only Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Carlos Zambrano in all of MLB players' salary. Jones had slipped in the 2007 season, hitting just .222, 26, 94, .724 OPS- all numbers a serious decline from the production of past seasons.
Perhaps the Braves had an idea Jones was not the same player. Just two seasons prior, Jones hit 51 HR and drove in 128 runs, leading the NL in both categories and finishing 2nd in the NL MVP voting. He followed that up in 2006 by hitting .261, 41, 129. He was not the same player in 2007. The only thing that stayed consistent was his defense in CF, which the Braves decided was not worth the type of contract he and his agent Scott Boras were looking for.
During his time in Atlanta, he had the makings of a Hall of Fame resume. In his 12 seasons with the Braves, he hit .243, 368, 1117 with 1683 hits and 1045 RS. He was the best defensive CF (OF) in the game and had already 10 Gold Gloves and 5 All Star selections. The 2007 season only took him to age 30. The problem with Jones is he deteriorated both offensive and defensively. It was never more evident than during his season in LA. In 75 games, he hit a miserable .158, 3, 14, striking out 76 times in 209 ABs. On January 15, 2009, Jones was released by LA, with the team taking a total loss on the balance of his contract. The team was able to defer some of it through the 2012 season. While it gave them some initial relief, it was probably a little bit of a running joke when the Dodgers paid Jones $3.2 million in 2010 when he was with the White Sox and $3.2 million each of his 2011 and 2012 season with the Yankees.
The Rangers were the first team to take a shot on him, signing him for $500,000 to play for them in 2009. Jones hit .214, 17, 43 in 82 games without playing a single game in CF. The White Sox brought him in for the 2010 season for the same $500,000 deal where did a little better, hitting.248, 19, 48, .827 in 105 games. He signed a two year, $3.5 million deal with the Yankees after the season. He had a good 2011 season (.247, 13, 33, .851 in 77 games) and a lousy 2012 season (.197, 14, 34, .701 in 94 games).
Jones spent the 2013 season with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese League. He has signed a deal to return to them in 2014. In 2013, he hit .243, 26, 94 with .845 OPS. In spite of that jump, he is off track to what was scene during his time in Atlanta. If Jones played his career to age 38, which would cover through the 2015 season at the pace he was on during his time in Atlanta, he'd have about 2800 hits, well over 500 career HRs and about 1700 RS. If he maintained his .263 average and .827 OPS to go along with continuing his defensive dominance in CF, he would have been a no doubt Hall of Fame player. Unfortunately, that consideration died the day he left Atlanta. His numbers since leaving the Braves would make it tough for teams to consider using him as a platoon player. His first 11 full seasons were impressive, but many in the game had put up similar types of numbers. The best were able to maintain that over a larger duration of time, something Andruw Jones was unable to do. Yes, he got to play in 10 straight postseasons for the Braves, putting up respectable numbers (.273, 10, 33, .796). Since 2005, Jones had one plate appearance in the postseason, hitting a sacrifice fly for the Yankees in the 2011 ALDS vs the Tigers.
Perhaps the Braves had an idea Jones was not the same player. Just two seasons prior, Jones hit 51 HR and drove in 128 runs, leading the NL in both categories and finishing 2nd in the NL MVP voting. He followed that up in 2006 by hitting .261, 41, 129. He was not the same player in 2007. The only thing that stayed consistent was his defense in CF, which the Braves decided was not worth the type of contract he and his agent Scott Boras were looking for.
During his time in Atlanta, he had the makings of a Hall of Fame resume. In his 12 seasons with the Braves, he hit .243, 368, 1117 with 1683 hits and 1045 RS. He was the best defensive CF (OF) in the game and had already 10 Gold Gloves and 5 All Star selections. The 2007 season only took him to age 30. The problem with Jones is he deteriorated both offensive and defensively. It was never more evident than during his season in LA. In 75 games, he hit a miserable .158, 3, 14, striking out 76 times in 209 ABs. On January 15, 2009, Jones was released by LA, with the team taking a total loss on the balance of his contract. The team was able to defer some of it through the 2012 season. While it gave them some initial relief, it was probably a little bit of a running joke when the Dodgers paid Jones $3.2 million in 2010 when he was with the White Sox and $3.2 million each of his 2011 and 2012 season with the Yankees.
The Rangers were the first team to take a shot on him, signing him for $500,000 to play for them in 2009. Jones hit .214, 17, 43 in 82 games without playing a single game in CF. The White Sox brought him in for the 2010 season for the same $500,000 deal where did a little better, hitting.248, 19, 48, .827 in 105 games. He signed a two year, $3.5 million deal with the Yankees after the season. He had a good 2011 season (.247, 13, 33, .851 in 77 games) and a lousy 2012 season (.197, 14, 34, .701 in 94 games).
Jones spent the 2013 season with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese League. He has signed a deal to return to them in 2014. In 2013, he hit .243, 26, 94 with .845 OPS. In spite of that jump, he is off track to what was scene during his time in Atlanta. If Jones played his career to age 38, which would cover through the 2015 season at the pace he was on during his time in Atlanta, he'd have about 2800 hits, well over 500 career HRs and about 1700 RS. If he maintained his .263 average and .827 OPS to go along with continuing his defensive dominance in CF, he would have been a no doubt Hall of Fame player. Unfortunately, that consideration died the day he left Atlanta. His numbers since leaving the Braves would make it tough for teams to consider using him as a platoon player. His first 11 full seasons were impressive, but many in the game had put up similar types of numbers. The best were able to maintain that over a larger duration of time, something Andruw Jones was unable to do. Yes, he got to play in 10 straight postseasons for the Braves, putting up respectable numbers (.273, 10, 33, .796). Since 2005, Jones had one plate appearance in the postseason, hitting a sacrifice fly for the Yankees in the 2011 ALDS vs the Tigers.
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