From Curaçao with Love

When you consider the career and legacy of Andruw Jones, it’s easy to start making short lists.

For example, he is one of only six outfielders in history to win 10 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.

Of the other five, the four who have been eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame have all been voted in. That list includes Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Al Kaline. The fifth is Ichiro Suzuki, who recently retired and many believe is a lock to be inducted someday.

An even more exclusive short list for which Jones qualifies is perhaps more impressive. How many players in history have hit 400 home runs and had a career dWAR of at least 24? Three: Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. (431 home runs, 35.7 dWAR), Jones (434 home runs, 24.5 dWAR) and Adrián Beltré (469 home runs, 29.2 dWAR).

Jones will tell you, though, that the fraternity he’s most proud to be a part of is players from Curaçao who reached the major leagues. He was the third, behind Hensley Meulens and Ralph Milliard. Those two played 224 combined games in the big leagues. Jones appeared in 2,196.

Born and Raised

Jones readily admits that baseball in Curaçao didn’t magically appear in the 1980s when Meulens signed with the New York Yankees. According to Jones, there were 10 or 15 players in the minors from the island when he signed, most of whom were with one of three organizations who were scouting the area back then: the Yankees, Braves and Orioles. In fact, Jones recalls there were a few in the Braves system before him.

None made the meteoric rise to stardom that Jones did. He arrived in Atlanta as a center fielder as a teenager. Jones wasn’t always an incredible outfielder, though.

“Growing up, you play infield or you pitch,” Jones told La Vida Baseball. “I started playing the outfield when I was 13 years old. So when I moved to the [United] States at a young age, I had a bunch of great coaches in the minor leagues who helped me.”

Jones said he had three players’ posters on his wall as a kid: Griffey, Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson and David Justice. Jones eventually played with Justice in Atlanta, but not before he was exposed to some terrific mentors.

He credits current Astros third base coach Gary Pettis with helping him defensively as a young player in the minors.

Pettis, who won five Gold Gloves in six seasons between 1985 and 1990 with the Angels and Tigers, was an instructor in the Braves organization when Jones arrived.

“Obviously I had the talent,” Jones said. “But when you have talent, you have to develop those talents and work harder and dedicate on who I wanted to be.”

While Pettis helped him defensively, Jones remembers his bat being helped immensely by Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, who played with Clemente in Pittsburgh.

According to Jones, the quality of the coaching he had in the Atlanta system played a huge role in his personal success and the dynasty that developed in Atlanta in the 1990s.

A Brave(s) World

Jones moved from Curaçao to the Braves’ minor league team in West Palm Beach, Fla. He remembers that the one constant in his life was baseball. He knew some English when he arrived and there was some culture shock moving to Florida, but he had no problem once he was on the diamond.

“It was more culture and adjustment to different people,” he remembers of the move to Florida. “That’s what I wanted to do. I enjoyed every city that I went to. I met so many great families that I stayed with through the minor league system. It was a great experience for me.”

Jones matriculated his way up through the Braves’ organization quickly. He remembers the organizational philosophy in Atlanta was to win from the bottom of the system to the top.

Looking back at the habits he learned in his minor league seasons Jones remembers the mindset was always about preparing to be successful. The expectation was to win championships at every level, and play consistent baseball in a way that sustained the winning attitude and culture.

“I was trying to win a championship in the A ball when I was starting that year,” he said. “Then, when we went to the All-Star game, we all got moved up. … And then all of a sudden you’re in Triple-A and you’re playing with older kids already and all of a sudden you get a chance to get called up to the big leagues.”

Center Stage

Jones joined the Braves as a 19-year-old in 1996 and appeared in 31 regular season games, hitting five home runs.

“To be honest with you it was just a level of change,” Jones said of his rise. “But baseball was still baseball.”

Nobody could have predicted his performance in that postseason, however.

He had one plate appearance in three games against the Dodgers in the Division Series, drawing a walk. Against the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series one of his two hits left the building. He finished that series 2-for-9 at the plate with three walks.

Then came the Yankees in the World Series. That’s when Jones truly announced his arrival to the entire baseball world.

Batting seventh for the Braves and playing left field while veteran Marquis Grissom was in center, the teenager hit a two-run homer in the second inning of Game 1 off lefthander Andy Pettitte.

One inning later, Jones hit a three-run blast off Brian Boehringer.

Jones finished the night 3-for-4 with five runs batted in and three runs scored as the Braves unloaded on the Yankees, winning 12-1. The Yankees eventually won four straight to win the World Series in six games, but Jones was a household name.

“My first year that I played, I was just happy to be there,” he said.. “And to be a part of a team that’s going be a championship team, I just went out there and played the game. I really didn’t think too much. I just played the game and had fun.”

Jones eventually emerged as arguably the best defensive center fielder of his generation. He appeared in five All-Star Games and was named both the National League Hank Aaron Award winner and the Sporting News’ 2005 Major League Player of the Year after he led the league with 51 home runs and 121 RBI.

Jones finished second to Albert Pujols in the National League Most Valuable Player in 2005, losing the prestigious award by a slim margin. He, Pujols and the Cubs’ Derrek Lee were the only players to appear on every ballot from the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

He garnered 13 first-place and 17 second-place votes while Pujols earned 18 first-place votes and 14 second-place votes.

The Curaçao Connection

As Jones looks around the league today, he feels a sense of pride in the number of players from Curaçao who have followed him to the big leagues. One of them is current Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, a young man Jones hopes can help lead the Braves back to the World Series.

Jones credits the Braves with doing a “good job building a minor league system,” he said. “[They have] a lot of guys in the minor leagues who have a bright future if they continue to keep working on their craft.”

Jones is still around the Braves organization. He works with the next generation of players, including Albies. As they chase postseason glory this fall, many in Atlanta will fondly remember one of the best to ever wear the Braves’ uniform.

Featured Image: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport