{"id":531104,"date":"2026-01-21T16:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/531104\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:18:19","slug":"andruw-jones-chipper-told-me-the-hall-wouldnt-be-complete-without-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/531104\/","title":{"rendered":"Andruw Jones: \u201cChipper told me \u201cThe Hall wouldn\u2019t be complete without you\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThey wanted to put a right-hander in the lineup and I took advantage of that.\u201d That\u2019s how Andruw Jones described getting the opportunity from then-manager Bobby Cox and then-General Manager John Schuerholz to join that 1996 Atlanta Braves team that went on to win the pennant. Jones famously hit two homers in his first two at-bats during Game 1 of the World Series and became the youngest player in history to hit a homer during the Postseason \u2014 and the World Series, at that \u2014 at just age-19.<\/p>\n

However, if you let Andruw tell it, he\u2019d say that the World Series title would\u2019ve been nice but there was another title that he had his eyes on in 1996. \u201cI was kind of mad that I got moved up to Double-A because I really wanted to win a championship in A-Ball,\u201d said Jones when he was asked about his experience in that season. \u201cYou didn\u2019t think about [the World Series]. All of a sudden, you\u2019re in the World Series. All I wanted to do was just learn, get better and win. I always wanted to win and just get the opportunity to play the game that you love [\u2026] My dad told me a long time ago, \u2018Take advantage of the opportunity\u2019 and that\u2019s what. wanted to do for my whole career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones took full advantage of the opportunity he got back in \u201896 and that was the start of what is now a Baseball Hall of Fame career for the Cura\u00e7ao native. The importance of being the first Hall of Famer from the island wasn\u2019t lost upon Jones, who expressed gratitude for his home helping to shape him into the player that he\u2019d eventually become. \u201cSince we grew up, we [in Cura\u00e7ao] wanted to play baseball,\u201d stated Andruw. \u201cI will say \u2018Thank you\u2019 to Hensley Meulens<\/a> for giving us the opportunity to be the first guy who opened the door for us. Cura\u00e7ao had so many guys that signed professionally that never made it. I used to work out with them and they taught me so much about what to look forward to in the minor leagues so I can be successful. I took advantage of all those opportunities that those guys gave me, so to be the first guy to make it from Cura\u00e7ao is a great honor and I know we\u2019re going to have more people coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TAICHUNG,<\/a><\/p>\n

TAICHUNG, TAIWAN – MARCH 07: Andruw Jones #25 of Team Netherlands poses for a photo during the 2023 WBC Workout Day Taichung at University Field on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 in Taichung, Taiwan. (Photo by Mary DeCicco\/WBCI\/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

While Andruw Jones was quick to remember the role that Cura\u00e7ao played in his path towards Cooperstown, he also made sure to remind everybody that he is still very much in love with the Braves organization. \u201cBig shout-out to Braves Country,\u201d stated Jones when asked about his connection to the city. \u201cI know everybody supported me throughout my whole career. Even when I left, the fans supported me. They knew I was always going to be a Brave and it was just a great time. I went to different teams but I always was a Brave. I was always loyal to the Braves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still live in Atlanta, my kids grew up in Atlanta. I feel like I live in Atlanta more than Cura\u00e7ao. I\u2019m basically an Atlantan,\u201d stated Andruw. Jones went on to talk about how he was excited about already being in the Braves Hall of Fame before saying that he was proud to help get another member of the Atlanta Braves into the Hall of Fame. So, if you had any question about what logo is going to be on Andruw\u2019s hat on his plaque, I think it\u2019s safe to assume that there\u2019s going to be \u201cA\u201d logo on that plaque in Cooperstown.<\/p>\n

While Andruw Jones is certainly happy to finally receive his day in the sun later on this Summer and also rubbed shoulders with a ton of Hall of Famers (both teammates and mentors alike) on his way to Cooperstown, Jones did admit that he never really saw it as a focus of his career. \u201cI didn\u2019t play this game to be a Hall of Famer,\u201d stated Andruw when asked about how it felt to finally be inducted. \u201cI played this game to help my team win. Obviously we didn\u2019t win a championship but we won our division every single year for fourteen-straight [years].\u201d<\/p>\n

He was definitely proud of being part of that divisional dynasty but Jones did eventually admit that it was pretty cool to say that he could be considered in the same class as other baseball legends in the Hall of Fame. \u201cTo be honest with you, it\u2019s just a great honor to just be within that class,\u201d admitted Andruw. \u201cAs a baseball player, we all know how hard it is to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. To get that chance is just one of those things you would never forget. To be in a class with all of those greats all of those legends\u2026it\u2019s just a great honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while Andruw Jones was effusive in his praise and admiration of his fellow Hall of Famers, it was one thing from Chipper that helped keep him motivated while he was patiently waiting for his Hall of Fame chances to improve. \u201cThe one thing that Chipper said a long time ago is that \u2018I don\u2019t think the Hall of Fame would be complete without [Andruw] being in it. I think his wish came true. I\u2019m so honored and so proud to be part of that big group,\u201d which included Bobby Cox, Fred McGriff, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and then Chipper Jones as well.<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a><\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GA – JULY 15: Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves laugh before the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park on July 15, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles\/Atlanta Braves\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s always an aura of \u201cWhat if\u201d surrounding those \u201890s Braves teams, it\u2019s clear based on their presence in Cooperstown that that group certainly made a significant impact on the landscape of baseball during their era. Andruw Jones always looked like he fit right in with the rest of those elite names and now he\u2019ll have the plaque and spot in Cooperstown to prove it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThey wanted to put a right-hander in the lineup and I took advantage of that.\u201d That\u2019s how Andruw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,202,4206,4166,5,192,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-531104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-braves","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-braves","10":"tag-atlanta-braves-history","11":"tag-atlanta-braves-news","12":"tag-atlantabraves","13":"tag-baseball","14":"tag-braves","15":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115933997654302179","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}