ATLANTA — Andruw Jones has watched each of the past eight Baseball Hall of Fame election results shows while sitting at the same sushi bar in Buckhead. Each of the past few years, he has rolled out of the establishment feeling more optimistic.
In fact, there’s reason for Jones to believe this might finally be the year he gains baseball’s greatest honor. But instead of getting overly excited, the former Braves great will attempt to maintain the poise he showed back in 1996, when — at the age of 19 — he homered in his first two career World Series plate appearances.
“You just never know what the vote is going to be or what is going to happen,” Jones said. “The first few years I was [on the ballot], I didn’t really put much mind to it. I would watch and congratulate who got in. But when you get closer, you friends and family start asking a lot of questions, like, ‘Do you think this is going to be the year?’”
Jones and the baseball world will learn this on Jan. 20, when the 2026 Hall of Fame election results are announced on MLB Network. This is the ninth time the elite outfielder has appeared on the HOF ballot. Candidates are removed from the ballot if they do not receive the necessary 75 percent of the votes within their first 10 years of eligibility.
“I look forward to the announcement,” Jones said. “I do every year. But I just don’t build up too much hope until it happens.”
Jones hopes to extend a recent trend that has seen the elections of players who received little support during their earliest years on the ballot. Billy Wagner was elected during his 10th and final year on the ballot last year. The former closer received less than 11 percent of the votes during his first year of eligibility and didn’t receive more than 20 percent during any of his first four years. But his vote totals over his final three years of eligibility jumped from 68.1 (in 2023) to 73.8 (in 2024) to 82.5 (in 2025).
Jones’ vote percentage over the past three years has risen from 58.1 to 61.6 to 66.2. His support among the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters has significantly grown since he received less than 8% of the vote during his first two years on the ballot.
Scott Rolen experienced a similar trajectory in the few years leading up to his 2023 election, receiving 10.2% in 2018, 17.2% in ‘19, 35.3% in ‘20, 52.9% in ‘21, 63.2% in ‘22 and 76.3% in ’23.
With Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun the top newcomers on next year’s ballot, there’s a definite chance Jones could draw 10 percent more of the votes and join former Braves teammates Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in the Hall of Fame. His former Atlanta manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz have also been inducted.
How crazy is it that Andruw has had to wait so long to be elected?
“It’s really crazy,” Chipper Jones said. “During a 10-year stretch, he won 10 Gold Gloves, averaged 30 homers a year and I’m sure he had around a thousand RBIs. Anybody with those numbers and credentials is in the Hall of Fame. The best defenders at their positions are in. Andruw was one of the top two or three, the best in my opinion, to ever play center field.”
Jones, Ichiro Suzuki and four current Hall of Famers — Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. — are the only outfielders to ever win 10 Gold Glove Awards.
While winning those 10 consecutive Gold Gloves with Atlanta from 1998-2007, Jones ranked third among all MLB players with a 57.6 bWAR, behind only Alex Rodriguez (80) and Barry Bonds (71). Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Albert Pujols each produced a 54.9 mark during this decade-long stretch.
Andruw Jones had seven 30-homer seasons, including an MLB-best 51-homer campaign in 2005. But what truly set him apart was the defensive excellence that has led many to continue to consider him to be the best center fielder the game has ever seen.
Jones had a 24.2 defensive WAR from 1998-2007. The next closest players were Hall of Famers Rolen (15.1) and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez (13.5).
Yeah, there was a steep decline late in Jones’ career. He had just a 95 OPS+ as he played for the Dodgers, White Sox, Rangers and Yankees during his final five seasons (2008-12). That means he wasn’t even an average offensive player (100 OPS+) as he progressed through his early 30s.
But Jones captured the baseball world’s attention at age 19 and spent the next decade proving to be elite. If leeway is given to a player who debuts at 23 and then starts to decline in their mid-30s, then shouldn’t the same grace be given to Jones, who was elite offensively and defensively for an entire decade?
