House That Hank Built
Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
COOPERSTOWN, NY – JULY 24: Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2011 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
COOPERSTOWN, NY – JULY 24: Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2011 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Because Ozzie Smith is In

I want to start by saying that I am not trying to discredit Ozzie Smith in any way. He is my favorite player of all-time and the reason I played shortstop growing up.

But the fact is, Ozzie Smith is in the Hall of Fame because of his defense, and because many view him as the great defensive player of all-time.

We already talked about how Andruw Jones is possibly the greatest defensive center fielder of all-time, so if Ozzie is in, then I don’t understand why Andruw isn’t in as well.

When you look at Ozzie’s numbers on offense he had a career average of .262 with 1,257 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .328, 793 RBI, and 580 stolen bases.

Andruw hit .254 over his career with a slugging percentage of .486, 1,204 runs scored, 1,289 RBI, and 152 stolen bases. They both had an on-base percentage of .337.

Obviously, Jones has better power numbers and Ozzie has better speed numbers (runs and stolen bases), but Andruw wasn’t terrible in those areas either.

Point being, you can’t put Ozzie Smith into the Hall of Fame on those offensive numbers alone. He got in the Hall of Fame because of his extraordinary defense, and that being the case, so should Andruw Jones.

Home/Braves News