Curaçaoan baseball player (born 1977)
Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Jones was a noted defensive specialist for most of his career and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. He had a strong throwing arm in addition to his elite fielding. He was an MLB All-Star five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005.
Jones made his MLB debut during the 1996 season with the Atlanta Braves. In the 1996 World Series, he became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason, and just the second player ever to homer in his first two World Series at-bats. The following season, Jones finished fifth in voting for Rookie of the Year. From 1998 to 1999, he continued to increase his offensive production, and in 2000, Jones batted .303 with 36 home runs and 104 runs batted in (RBIs), making his first All-Star team. Jones started to draw many comparisons to Willie Mays and was considered one of the top center fielders in baseball. He proved to be a top defensive player, leading all center fielders in putouts and total zone runs five years in a row from 1998 to 2002. In 2001, he again hit over 30 home runs and drove in 104 runs but his average dipped to .251 while his strikeouts increased. Jones improved with All-Star seasons in 2002 and 2003, but in 2004, he failed to hit at least 30 home runs for the first time since 1999 and exceeded 100 strikeouts, which became a regular occurrence thereafter. In 2005, he led the National League (NL) with 51 home runs and 128 RBIs, finishing second to Albert Pujols for NL Most Valuable Player. In subsequent seasons, his average continued to dip and his strikeouts increased. After a productive season in 2006, including a career- high 129 RBIs, in 2007 Jones had his weakest season to that point, batting just .222. During his time with Atlanta, Jones became one of the youngest players in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs.
After the 2007 season, Jones signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent to a two-year deal, worth $36.2 million. However, Jones struggled with the Dodgers, batting just .158 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. Shortly after the season, Jones was released. Jones concluded his MLB career with brief stints for the Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees, transitioning from a center fielder to designated hitter and a fourth outfielder role. While with the White Sox, Jones hit his 400th career home run.
Early life.
Jones was born on April 23, 1977, in the capital city of Willemstad on the Caribbean island nation of Curaçao. By the age of 11, Jones was on a youth select team that traveled all the way to Japan to play in a tournament. He could handle any position on the field, but because of his powerful arm, Jones often found himself at catcher or third base. He switched to the outfield a couple of years later.
Early professional career.
Jones signed with the Atlanta Braves organization as a free agent in 1993 at the age of 16. Jones was promoted to Danville of the Appalachian League after only 27 games with the Braves farm team in West Palm Beach, Florida. Jones played for Class-A Macon in 1995. In his first at bat, he belted a homer. He finished the season with 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Jones also led the South Atlantic League with 56 steals. His outstanding season was capped off when he was named Minor League Player of the Year.
Professional career.
Major League Baseball.
Atlanta Braves (1996–2007).
The Braves brought Jones up to Atlanta on August 15, 1996, when he was just 19 years old. In his first career Major League game, Jones went 1-for-5 with a run batted in and a run scored. In his second game, he went 2-for-5 with a home run and a triple. He had his first multi-homer game against the Reds on August 22. He spent his early time in the majors playing in right field because established center fielder Marquis Grissom was already entrenched in the position. He finished the season batting .217 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. Jones was selected to the Braves' postseason roster in 1996. In the National League Championship Series against the Cardinals, Jones batted .222 with a home run and 3 RBIs. The Braves won the Series and advanced to the World Series.
In Game 1 of the 1996 World Series on October 20, 1996, Jones was able to demonstrate his talents on the national stage. He connected for two home runs to left field on his first two at bats as the Braves routed the New York Yankees 12–1. Jones became the youngest player ever to homer in the World Series at the age of 19 years, 180 days, breaking Mickey Mantle's record of 20 years, 362 days — on what would have been Mantle's 65th birthday. Jones joined Gene Tenace as the only other player to hit home runs in his first two World Series at bats. Tenace did it in 1972 with the Oakland Athletics.
Jones became the Braves' everyday right fielder in 1997. Jones hit his first home run of the season against Jeff McCurry of the Rockies. Jones had his second multi-homer game against the Cubs on July 22. On August 31, Jones went 3-for-3 with a home run and five runs batted in a game against the Boston Red Sox. Jones finished his rookie season with a .231 batting average, 18 home runs, and 70 runs batted in. Jones also showed his speed by stealing 20 bases. He finished 5th in Rookie of the Year voting. In 1998, he moved to center field nearly full-time, and had a much more encouraging season. He hit his 30th home run of the season against Florida on September 13. He also won his first of ten straight Gold Glove Awards. In the 1998 National League Division Series, Jones went 0 for 9 but did draw 3 walks. The Braves won the series against the Cubs. In the 1998 NLCS against the San Diego Padres, Jones batted .273 with a home run and two RBIs. However, The Braves lost the series in six games. 
Whether he was in the batter's box or gliding under a fly ball to make an easy basket catch, Jones played the game in a very relaxed manner. This temporarily earned him the ire of manager Bobby Cox in June 1998 in an incident in which Cox pulled Jones out of a game, in the midst of an inning, because he felt Jones had lazily allowed a single to drop in center field. Jones went on to hit .271 with 31 home runs and 90 runs batted in and stole 27 bases.
Still just 22 years old, Jones had similar numbers in 1999. He had a breakout season with his bat in 2000 with career highs up until that point in batting average (.303), home runs (36), and RBIs (104). He also earned his first All-Star Game appearance. He also led the National League in Plate Appearances (729) and At Bats (656). Jones struggled in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals. He went 1 for 9 with a home run. The Braves lost the series.
However, in 2001, Jones' batting average fell and his strikeouts went up. Jones finished with 34 home runs and 104 RBIs but his average dropped to only .251 and he struck out 142 times. By now, Jones had gained nearly 30 pounds since arriving in the Major Leagues, greatly diminishing his speed on the basepaths (he would not steal more than 11 bases after 2001). He maintained a similar batting performance in 2002, but was still playing superb defense. On September 7, he belted two home runs in his last two at-bats. In his first two at-bats on September 10, he belted two more home runs. He became the 11th player in MLB history to homer in four straight at-bats. Then on September 25, Jones belted three home runs against the Phillies. Jones became the first Braves player to hit three home runs in a game since Jeff Blauser did it in 1992. Jones was named to his second All Star team. He ended the season with 35 home runs and 94 RBIs.
In 2003, with the power-hitting Gary Sheffield in the line-up, Jones achieved a new career high-water mark in RBIs, with 116. Jones made his third All Star team and homered in the game. The American League beat the National League, 7–6. In the 2004 season, he took a step backward when he hit fewer than 30 homers and struck out 147 times. During the season, Jones was the subject of trade rumors.
Breakout in 2005.
Prior to the 2005 season, Jones increased his workout regimen and followed advice given by Willie Mays to widen his batting stance. The result was his most productive offensive season ever. After Chipper Jones went down with an injury early in 2005, Jones carried the Braves. By the All Star break, Jones was leading the National League in home runs with 27. Jones was named to the All Star team, the fourth of his career. Jones hit his 40th home run of the season on August 23 in a loss against the Cubs. It marked the first time in his career that he hit at least 40 home runs in a season. Jones became the first Braves hitter to hit 40 home runs in a season since Javy Lopez did it in 2003. On September 14, 2005, Jones hit his 300th career home run which went off Philadelphia Phillies reliever Geoff Geary in a 12–4 Phillies win. The ball landed in the upper deck in left field at Citizens Bank Park. Jones became the first hitter since Alex Rodriguez (57) and Jim Thome (52) to hit at least 50 home runs in a season. Jones also became the 12th player in history to hit 300 home runs before his 30th birthday.
Jones hit a major league-leading 51 home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron's and Eddie Mathews' single-season club record, and winning the Babe Ruth Home Run Award. He also led the National League with a career-high 128 RBI. Jones' torrid hitting in the summer, especially while teammate Chipper Jones was out with an injury, helped carry the Braves to their 14th consecutive division championship. He finished just behind St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols in the 2005 NL MVP vote. In the 2005, National League Divisional Series against the Houston Astros, Jones hit .471 with a home run and five RBIs. However, the Astros took the series, 3–1.
2006.
Before the 2006 season, Jones played in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands. Jones started the season by hitting a home run off a pitch from Derek Lowe. Jones finished the game by going 2 for 4 with a home run, 4 runs batted in, a strikeout, and a base on balls. The Braves won the game, 11–10. From April 16 through April 19, Jones homered in 4 consecutive games. During that stretch, he batted .438 with 5 home runs and 8 runs batted in. Jones finished the month of April with a .281 average, 8 home runs and 23 runs batted in (RBI).
Jones matched his career high with 6 runs batted in on July 18 against the Cardinals. He also went 5 for 5 with 2 home runs. On August 29, in a game against the Giants, Jones drove in 3 runs, which gave him his 1000th career RBI. On September 26, in a game against the New York Mets, Jones hit his 40th home run of the season. He became the first hitter in Atlanta's history to have consecutive seasons of at least 40 homers. Jones finished the 2006 season with 41 home runs and 129 RBIs. Jones