The long-awaited reward of Cooperstown is finally a reality for Braves Hall of Famer Andruw Jones. The longtime Atlanta center fielder received his elusive call to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening. It was Jones’ ninth year on the ballot, as his Hall of Fame journey completed a turnaround of historic proportions.
When Jones debuted on the ballot in 2018, not many gave the Curaçao native much of a chance to eventually earn a nod to Cooperstown. His initial voting results proved that to be correct. However, a debut ballot does not define a ballplayer, and Andruw Jones is a historic testament to that.
Lowest debut vote pct, eventually elected by BBWAA, since return to annual voting in 1966:
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) January 20, 2026
2018 Andruw Jones: 7.3%
2018 Scott Rolen: 10.2%
2016 Billy Wagner: 10.5%
2019 Todd Helton: 16.5%
1970 Duke Snider: 17.0%
1998 Bert Blyleven: 17.5%
Andruw Jones gets Hall of Fame nod despite lowest debut vote percentage since 1966
Back in 2018, when Jones first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, he earned just 7.3% of the vote. The following year, he remained a long shot, receiving only 7.5%. If a player falls below the 5% voting threshold at any point, they are removed from the ballot. Jones was dangerously close to falling off in each of his first two years.
However, things began to turn around in 2020 as Hall of Fame voting slowly shifted toward valuing advanced metrics. No player graded better across a wide range of advanced defensive statistics than Andruw Jones. Voters already knew about his ten consecutive Gold Gloves, but a new generation of voters placed greater value on just how much better Jones was defensively than his peers.
According to Sarah Langs, Jones has the lowest debut vote percentage eventually elected by BBWAA, since return to annual voting in 1966. The next closest was Scott Rolen (10.2% in 2018) and another former Brave, Billy Wagner (10.5% in 2016).
At times, it felt like this beloved Braves Hall of Famer might never join baseball’s elite. The odds seemed as slim as we have seen in quite some time. Yet that didn’t stop Jones from making a continuous climb. In a way, it mirrored the unorthodox defensive strategy he rode to the Hall of Fame. He would begin in shallow center field and sprint back toward a ball headed for the warning track—when few believed there was any chance it would be caught. But with Andruw Jones in center field, the ball always seemed to find its way to eventually find his glove.