BOSTON - Kenley Jansen was thrilled that Fred McGriff was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame Sunday, having been elected last winter by an era committee.
As a young baseball fan in Curacao, the Red Sox closer was able to watch the Atlanta Braves via TBS and McGriff, the power-hitting first baseman, was a beloved star.
“He was my favorite player growing up,” said Jansen.
But Jansen believes a fellow countryman, outfielder Andruw Jones, should also receive the same honor in Cooperstown.
“One hundred percent,” said Jansen. “We’re talking about one of the best center fielders to ever play the game. Yes, we have Willie Mays and all those guys. But Andruw, man, golly. Ten Gold Gloves. Just think about how hard it is just to play in the big leagues, and this man has 10 Gold Gloves. We all try to get to 10 years for the (full) pension. But this man got 10 Gold Gloves and he had (more than) 400 homers.
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“Of course, his batting average was (just) .260. But that’s who he was. The man was clutch with men on base. And plus all of those years in the playoffs. He started his career as an 19-year-old with those two homers in the World Series.”
The support for Jones has grown over the years. After receiving 19.4 percent in 2020, he garnered 33.9 percent in 2021, 41.4 percent in 2022 and 58.1 percent in 2023. He has four more year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot.
Jansen believes that Jones has had difficulty getting the necessary support because of how his career ended. Over his last five years, spent with four different teams, Jones suffered a big drop-off in production, failing to hit more than 19 homers or knock in more than 48 runs in any single season.
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“The dude made all those diving catches and played every day (he played 153 games or more in his 10-year career with the Braves), and your body is going to catch up to you,” said Jansen. “But still, that run that he had from 1997 to 2007 was remarkable.”
Jansen got to see Jones often last year after Jansen signed with the Braves.
“That’s the one thing I miss about being there,” he said of Atlanta. “That’s my idol. He gave us hope. He opened up doors for people from Curacao. To me, he’s forever a Hall of Famer in my heart. And I’m praying and hoping that the writers see that.”
Jansen recalled telling his mother that he wanted to leave his Little League games in Curacao on Sunday morning so as to get home in time to watch Jones on TV.
“Those are the moments that got my career started,” said Jansen. “I feel like that was my inspiration.”