The Atlanta Braves are finally going to do the right thing and retire Andruw Jones’ No. 25.
It has been a minute since the Atlanta Braves last retired a number, so it was only a matter of time before they did right by their iconic former centerfielder, Andruw Jones.
Atlanta announced on Monday morning that no other player will wear his No. 25 jersey in Braves Country again. He will be the 11th former Braves star to receive this honor, joining the likes of his former teammates Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, as well as his former manager Bobby Cox. This honor was so long overdue, but we are thankful it is happening.
Congratulations on achieving the highest honor any player could ever receive from one franchise.
Here is the official press release sent out by the Braves on the retirement ceremony. It will take place on Sept. 9 when the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town.
“It’s a great honor getting your number retired,” said Jones in a statement. “You don’t think about things like that while you’re playing. You just play the game you love. I’m thankful to the Braves for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love. Being the first kid from Curaçao to have his jersey retired is also an honor. So many kids who grew up there watching me play and this will give them hope on what they can do in their careers.”
To date, the only Braves player who has his number retired by the organization and is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame is two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy. Hopefully, Jones and Murphy get the respect they have long deserved on a national scope.
Atlanta Braves to finally retire Andruw Jones’ No. 25 jersey on Sept. 9
Although Jones’ MLB career largely fell apart at the seams after he left Atlanta, his decade-long run with the Braves was the stuff of legend. They might as well rename Gold Glove award for centerfielders after him. While his defense made him incredibly popular in Atlanta, his power bat is what will inevitably propel him into Cooperstown one day. He will proudly be wearing a Braves cap.
But it goes so much further than defensive prowess and tape-measure home runs from 1996 to 2005. Jones made it a point in his statement that he is the first player from his native Curaçao to have his number retired. The small Dutch island in the Caribbean has become a baseball factory in the wake of Jones and Randall Simon’s professional success. We’re talking about a game-changer.
And for that reason right there, Jones will get at least 75 percent of the simply delightful baseball writers to vote him in for induction at some point in the next four years. He got 58.1 percent of the vote on his sixth ballot back in January, trailing only Scott Rolen, who got in at 76.3 percent, Todd Helton, who came up just shy at 72.2 percent and Billy Wagner, who garnered 68.1 percent.
Overall, Cooperstown is a museum in rural Upstate New York that should celebrate the game of baseball with players from all over the globe a prominent part of it. You throw numbers my way and I’ll raise you an entire island nation that Jones inspired. This should tip the scales forever in his favor, as well as having all of Braves Country fully behind him. His number retirement is massive.
Ultimately, this was the final step in helping get Jones into the hall of fame. Having the franchise he is most closely associated with in total support of him will go a long way in the eyes of some voters. Analytics on the defensive side of the ball will help him out tremendously as well. We don’t need more gatekeepers in life; we need more people who appreciate what really makes us happy.
After Sept. 9., the next big thing on his’ baseball legacy radar will have to be a hall-of-fame plaque.