The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a very prestigious place to be. The all-time greats are placed there and recognized for the careers they had on the baseball field. Players like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Ken Griffey Jr. and Hank Aaron are no doubt hall-of-famers, but there are always players that are on the edge of getting in the Hall of Fame. A player named Andruw Jones is one of those players.

Andruw Jones was a former Major League Baseball player that was known for his time with the Atlanta Braves. Andruw Jones came into the league as a teenager and was a young phenom; Jones was known for his power hitting and exceptional defense. Jones was a five time all-star and a stellar 10-time Gold Glove winner. His best individual year came in 2005 with Atlanta when he led the league in home runs with 51, 128 RBI’s, and finished second in MVP voting to future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. Andruw’s 10 consecutive Gold Gloves is more than anyone, except for Hall of Famer Willie Mays. He also hit at least 25 homers and drove in at least 84 runs in every season from 1998-2007 and had four seasons with at least 20 stolen bases.

Andruw Jones was clearly on the right path to the Hall of Fame, but he did have a downfall. After his time with Atlanta, his defense was obviously not the same because of his age. His offensive numbers drastically dropped as well. In his last seven seasons, he could not stay healthy and never reached 20 home runs or 50 RBI’s in a single season again.

Jones retired with 434 home runs, 1,933 hits, and 1,289 RBI’s. While those numbers are really strong, some might say that they are not Hall of Fame material. He has been on the ballot for four years and each year his voting percentage has increased. Will his great 10-year span of offense and stellar defense be enough to get him to that prestigious place? Or will his drastic downfall keep him from not getting in? Atlanta Braves fans and everyone else will just have to wait and hope that he did enough to become a Hall of Famer.