Next up would be Adam Jones, but I don’t think any of us would consider him worthy of the Hall.
He had a good career, playing 14 seasons, two for the Mariners and then 12 for the Orioles. He played 1823 games, hitting .277/.317/.454 with 282 home runs, and a 32.6 bWAR. He won four Gold Gloves in center field, made five All-Star teams, got MVP votes three times (finishing as high as sixth) and had one Silver Slugger.
Adam had three seasons with bWARs above 4.0, topping out at 4.8 twice. He had power but didn’t control the strike zone.
His Orioles made the playoffs three times during his tenure, but he never made the World Series. He hit .155/.206/.207 in 14 playoff games.
It is his first time on the ballot, and it will likely be a one-and-done, but he had a nice career.
It’s Andruw Jones’ eighth time on the ballot. In his first six times, he received 7.3%, 7.5, 19.4, 33.9, 41.4, 58.1 and 61.5% last year. He’s closing in on the 75% needed, but he doesn’t have many more times on the ballot left.
Jones came up with the Braves at the same time Vladimir Guerrero, Sr. did for the Expos. Back then, they were the top prospects in baseball. Jones wouldn’t become the offensive star that Guerrero was.
Jones would play 17 seasons and hit .254/.337/.486 with 434 home runs. These are good numbers, but they pale next to Guerrero’s.
But Jones makes up for some of that difference in value in his ability to play center field. Jones won ten Gold Glove awards. He was terrific in the outfield.
Jones made five All-Star teams. He received MVP votes five times, finishing as high as second (in 2005, when he hit .263/.347/.575 with 51 homers and 128 RBI, his best season in the majors). And he finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996. Vlad was 6th).
He played in 76 playoff games but was never a World Series winner. It wasn’t his fault. He hit .273/.363/.433 with 10 home runs in those games.
Jones played 12 seasons for the Braves, then had a season with the Dodgers, a season with the Rangers, and a season with the White Sox. He finished his career with two seasons with the Yankees.
He has a 62.8 bWAR.
Back then, you had to choose whether you were a fan of Jones or Guerrero. Of course, I decided on Guerrero, but Jones has a pretty good case for the Hall.
To me, his case hinges on how much you value defense. Offensively, he doesn’t reach the level of a Hall of Fame player, but if you add in that, he was the best defensive center fielder of his generation. I need help with these balancing acts. As a long-time player of board and computer baseball games, I lean toward the offensive guys because offense is easier to quantify for those games. But, in the real world, defense is valuable.
I’m curious how he’ll do this year. Last year, Scott Rolen made it into the Hall, in large part due to his defense. Jones was at least as good defensively at CF as Rolen was at 3B. Their offensive numbers:
- Jones: 2196 games. 1933 hits. 434 home runs. 152 stolen bases, .254/.337/.486 line.
- Rolen: 2038 games. 2077 hits, 216 home runs, 118 stolen bases, .281/.364/.490 line.
There isn’t much to choose between them offensively. So, I guess the question is whether we believe Jones’ defense in CF is as valuable as Rolen’s at third base.
You can check out his numbers here.