Andruw Jones made a name for himself right out of the gate in the 1996 World Series. The 19-year old rookie hit homeruns in his first 2 series at bats, becoming the youngest player to hit a homerun in the World Series, and one of only two to hit 2 in their first series at bats.
Jones became the everyday starting centerfielder for the Braves the following season and would quickly establish himself as the best defensive outfielder in baseball. In 1998 he won his first of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, tying him for 3rd place among all outfielders (only Mays and Clemente won more).
Jones’ defensive prowess was best exemplified by looking at his defensive WAR metric. According to baseball-reference, Jones’ dWAR of 24.4 is far and away the best among all centerfielders in MLB history (Paul Blair is a distant second at 18.8, and Mays is third at 18.2). Expanding to all positions, Jones ranks 22nd all-time.
Jones was a decent offensive player as well. Though only a .254 lifetime hitter, he did belt 434 homeruns, 5th most for centerfielders in MLB history (behind Mays, Griffey, Mantle, and Beltran).
The best centerfielder in at least a generation, Andruw Jones is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
