Andruw will have to wait to join ex-Brave Wagner in the HOF

ATLANTA -- The bad news is that Andruw Jones will have to wait at least one more year. The good news is that he is on a path similar to the one traveled by former Braves closer Billy Wagner, one of the baseball’s new Hall of Famers.

Wagner, Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia were elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame, as announced on Tuesday night. Jones (66.2) finished a little less than nine percentage points shy of the 75 percent vote total needed to gain election.

Wagner gained election during his 10^th and final year of eligibility. The flamethrowing reliever received less than 11 percent of the votes during his first year of eligibility and didn’t receive more than 20 percent during any of his first four years. But his vote totals over the past three years jumped from 68.1 to 73.8 to 82.5.

Jones is eligible to be on the ballot for two more years, but it's not out of the question that the iconic outfielder will need to wait just one more year. His vote percentage over the past three years has risen from 58.1 to 61.6 to 66.2.

Scott Rolen experienced a similar trajectory in the few years leading up to his 2023 election, receiving 10.2% in 2018, 17.2% in ‘19, 35.3% in ‘20, 52.9% in ‘21, 63.2% in ‘22 and 76.3% in '23.

With Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun the top newcomers on next year’s ballot, Jones could certainly be just a year away from election. If not, there’s at least reason to believe he would be elected in 2027, which would be his 10^th and final year of eligibility.

Jones, Suzuki and four current Hall of Famers -- Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. -- are the only outfielders to win 10 Gold Glove Awards.

While winning those 10 consecutive Gold Gloves (1998-2007), Jones ranked third among all MLB players with a 57.6 bWAR, behind only Alex Rodriguez (80) and Barry Bonds (71). Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Albert Pujols each produced a 54.9 mark during this decade-long stretch.

Andruw Jones had seven 30-homer seasons, including an MLB-best 51-homer campaign in 2005. But what truly set him apart was the defensive excellence that has led many to consider him the best center fielder the game has ever seen.

Jones had a 24.2 defensive WAR from 1998-2007. The next closest players were Rolen (15.1) and another Hall of Famer, Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez (13.5).

Wagner grew up a Braves fan and finally got to play for Atlanta in 2010, which was Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox’s final season before retirement.

From 1995 (the debut season for Wagner and Mariano Rivera) through 2010 (Wagner’s final season), Rivera led all relievers in fWAR with 34.9. Wagner ranked second with 24.1, and Trevor Hoffman ranked third with 24.0.

The baseball world has wisely minimized the significance of pitching wins. Maintaining this same line of reasoning in relation to Wagner -- who had 422 career saves, as opposed to 652 for Rivera and 601 for Hoffman -- it could be argued that voters have placed too much emphasis on save totals when evaluating a reliever’s qualifications.

Hoffman was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, and Rivera was elected unanimously in ’19. While Hoffman totaled 179 more saves, Wagner had a better ERA (2.31 vs. 2.87), a higher strikeout rate (33.2% vs. 25.8%) and a lower OPS surrendered (.558 vs. .609).