The results of the BBWAA’s voting process for the 2026 Hall of Fame Class has been revealed and it’s now official: Cooperstown beckons for Andruw Jones. The center fielder from Curaçao is now the latest member of those glorious ‘90s Atlanta Braves teams to earn a spot in the hallowed circle of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Here’s a link to the full results. Jones earned 333 votes, which placed him on 78.4 percent of all ballots and that was enough to get him induction into the Hall of Fame.
Jones made his MLB debut at the age of 19 and proceeded to eventually build a reputation for being one of the most dynamic center fielders of his era of baseball. Jones finished his career with a slash line of .254/.337/.486 with a wOBA of .352 and a wRC+ of 111. However, his defense was his main calling card, as he made stunning catches that defied what was believed could be possible out of a center fielder and made tough catches look routine as well.
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While Andruw Jones certainly had to wait and steadily gain ground for his eventual induction into Cooperstown, he was able to eventually pull off the trick during this round of voting. It won’t come down to the absolute wire for Andruw Jones, as he’ll end up making it with a year of eligibility left remaining after this one. While some objectively shameful off-the-field issues and the fact that he didn’t exactly age gracefully may have been held against him when it came to his Hall of Fame case, it was his performance and overall reputation as a center fielder during his prime (which he spent entirely with the Braves) that was enough to win out and eventually gain him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Andruw Jones will be joined by Carlos Beltrán in this year’s Hall of Fame class, as they’re the only two who earned induction from this year’s ballot. Jones will also join Manager Bobby Cox, third baseman Chipper Jones, first baseman Fred McGriff, and pitchers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz as Baseball Hall of Fame members who were present on that ‘96 Braves team that came two wins away from winning it all in back-to-back fashion. A special player now joins a special crew.
