Andruw Rudolf Jones, a Curaçaoan born on April 23, 1977, was a former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent the majority of his time with the Atlanta Braves. Jones also participated in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees.
By the time he was 11 years old, Jones had already flown to Japan to compete with an elite youth squad. Although he could play any position, Jones frequently found himself at catcher or third base due to his strong arm. A few years later, he made a move to the outfield.
When Did Andruw Jones Start His Professional Career?
In 1993, at 16, Jones joined the Atlanta Braves organization as a free agent. After just 27 games with the Brave’s minor league affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida, Jones was promoted to Danville of the Appalachian League.
In 1995, Jones participated in Class-A Macon. He hit a home run on his debut at the plate. He had a successful season with 25 home runs and 100 batted in. Jones had the most steals in the South Atlantic League with 56. His selection as Minor League Player of the Year served as the cherry on top of an exceptional campaign.
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Professional Career
Major League Baseball
Atlanta Braves (1996–2007)
Jones was only 19 years old on August 15, 1996, when the Braves brought him to Atlanta. Jones had a 1-for-5 performance in his debut Major League game, driving in one run and scoring another. In his second game, he had a 2-for-5 performance with a home run and a triple.
On August 22, he hit three home runs against the Reds. Due to Marquis Grissom’s established position in the center field, he spent most of his early major league career playing in the right area. He hit.217 for the year, had five home runs and had 13 RBIs.
In 1996, Jones was chosen for the Braves postseason roster. Jones batted.222 with a home run and three RBIs against the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. By winning the Series, the Braves qualified for the World Series.
On October 20, 1996, Jones had the chance to showcase his abilities in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series. He hit two home runs to left field in his first two at-bats, helping the Braves thrash the New York Yankees 12-1. At the age of 19 and 180 days, Jones broke Mickey Mantle’s record of 20 years, 362 days, by being the youngest player to homer in the World Series.
This occurred on what would have been Mantle’s 65th birthday. Jones is the only other player after Gene Tenace to have homered in each of his first two World Series at-bats. With the Oakland Athletics in 1972, Tenace accomplished this.
Breakout in 2005
Before the 2005 season, Jones upped his exercise routine and adjusted his batting stance following Willie Mays’ recommendations.
As a result, he had his most successful offensive season ever. Jones carried the Braves early in 2005 after Chipper Jones was injured. Jones had 27 home runs by the All-Star break, putting him first in the National League. Jones was selected for the All-Star squad for the fourth time in his career. On August 23, during a loss to the Cubs, Jones blasted his 40th home run of the year.
He hit at least 40 home runs in a season for the first time in his career. Since Javy Lopez did it in 2003, Jones is the only Braves player to hit 40 home runs in a season. In a 12-4 victory for the Philadelphia Phillies on September 14, 2005, Jones hit his 300th career home run, which traveled 430 feet (130 m) off reliever Geoff Geary.
At Citizens Bank Park, the ball landed in the upper tier of left field. Jones became the first player to hit at least 50 home runs in a season since Jim Thome (52) and Alex Rodriguez (57). In addition, Jones became the 12th player in history to smash 300 home runs before turning 30.
2006
Jones represented the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic before the 2006 season.
Jones blasted a home run off a pitch from Derek Lowe to start the season. With two home runs, four runs batted in, a strikeout, and a base on balls, Jones concluded the game finishing 2 for 4. 11-10 was the final score in the Braves’ victory.
Jones hit a home run in four straight games from April 16 to April 19. He hit.438 with 5 home runs and 8 runs batted in over that span. With 8 home runs, 23 runs batted in, and a.281 average, Jones ended the month of April (RBI).
2007
Many fans and sports pundits believed that 2007 would be his final season with the Braves as he entered the last year of his contract, primarily due to his possible market value that the Braves could not afford.
[Reference needed] Jones, on the other hand, started the season with a shockingly terrible performance, striking out 51 times in 41 games and hitting in the low.200s for the majority of April and May.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2008)
On December 5, 2007, Jones and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a $36.2 million two-year contract. He struggled after arriving overweight and out of shape, hitting below.200 for most of the season. In addition, he only managed 10 hits in 116 at-bats with runners on base. Jones’ spot in the Dodgers lineup was moved from third to eighth due to poor performance. Jones hadn’t hit eighth in a lineup since 1998 until this time.
On May 25, 2008, Jones was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career. After hurting his knee during batting practice earlier that day, he underwent knee surgery. Jones was benched by Dodgers manager Joe Torre on July 27, 2008, and was told that his only future role would be as a spot starter.
Texas Rangers (2009)
Jones signed a one-year minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on February 8, 2009; the agreement included incentives worth $1 million and rewarded him $500,000 if he made the main league squad. Even though he would probably not be a starter, Jones allegedly declined a comparable offer from the New York Yankees to contend for their center field position and expressed interest in sticking with the Rangers. He got the final roster place for the Rangers.
He was supposed to be a pinch-hitter for the Rangers, but Josh Hamilton’s injury forced him into the starting outfield position. In his Rangers debut, Jones would go 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jones was batting.344 at the end of April with three home runs and six runs batted in.
Career Summary
Jones had a career.254 average, 434 home runs, and 1,289 runs batted in as of the completion of the 2012 campaign. He is presently forty-first in terms of career home runs. However, Jones’s problem has been his inability to hit for average and against breaking balls consistently. Jones has only ever batted.300 or higher once in his career (.303 in 2000), and since 2007—the year he turned 30—he has only hit.214.
— Andruw Jones (@andruwjones25) May 16, 2022
Early in his career, Jones was also renowned for his speed. His quickness allowed him to secure the final playoff berth on the 1996 Braves roster. From 1997 to 2000, Jones stole 20 or more bases. However, when he was hit with more force, his speed decreased. Since he stole 11 bases in 2001, Jones has not stolen at least 10 bases since. Another explanation for this can be a considerable weight increase.
International Career
Jones was qualified to play for the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic because of his Curaçao birthplace. In the future, Jones will rejoin the group for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Jones was chosen to play first base for the National Dutch team in the 2015 Premier 12 two years later 2015. Later, he declared that those were his last competitive games.
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