As the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame voting wraps up, a perplexing question looms large: Can a player’s underwhelming denouement overshadow a Cooperstown-worthy prime? The case of Andruw Jones, whose support hovers around 70% in his 8th year on the ballot, has reignited this debate.
The Tale of Two Tens
Consider the first decade of Jones’ career compared to another no-doubt Hall of Famer:
- Andruw Jones’ first 10 seasons: 57.9 bWAR
- Ichiro Suzuki’s first 10 seasons: 54.8 bWAR
Both marks rank in the 99th percentile all-time for 10-year peaks. The median Hall of Famer checks in at the 99.1 percentile. By this measure, both Jones and Ichiro were on a Cooperstown trajectory.
The Ichiro Inevitability
Ichiro’s case is open-and-shut. Despite not debuting until age 27, he notched 3,000 hits while batting .331 with 10 Gold Gloves in his first decade. He’s deservedly a near-lock for unanimous induction.
The Andruw Ambiguity
Jones also won 10 straight Gold Gloves in center field to start his career. His OPS+ in that span? Exactly the same 117 as Ichiro. Had his career ended after 10 seasons, he’d likely already be enshrined after a heated debate.
But Jones didn’t have the luxury of a Koufax-esque early exit. As his once-transcendent skills eroded, he bounced around as a part-time player. Those middling seasons are unfairly coloring his legacy.
Peak vs. Perseverance
Among Hall of Famers with a 10-year peak on par with Jones, 75% of their value came in that decade. With very few exceptions, primes are when legacies are cemented.
A player’s legacy isn’t built on mediocre seasons, but on what he did at his best.
There’s certainly merit to recognizing enduring greatness. But a decade of dominance like Jones’ 10-year run is exceedingly rare. Only 0.5% of players in history have exceeded his 57.9 peak bWAR.
Reconsidering the Rubric
It feels foolish to punish Jones for not voluntarily hanging up his spikes early. We don’t dock Babe Ruth for an forgettable last hurrah with the Braves. Fixating on Jones’ denouement distracts from appreciating his historic prime.
Should a player be able to play his way out of the Hall of Fame? Or is reaching immortal heights, even if not for the entirety of one’s career, sufficient? Jones’ overlooked case demands a reevaluation.
There’s no perfect formula for Hall worthiness. But a decade of bona fide brilliance should supersede an unbecoming end. Rather than remembering how Jones finished, it’s time we properly honor how brightly his star burned at its peak.