This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

About a month after the sports world was shut down by the COVID pandemic in 2020, I opined the Braves should retire Andruw Jones’ number. Tyler Flowers was wearing it at the time and Cristian Pache was honored to be given No. 25 as he began his tenure as Atlanta’s center fielder in 2021. 

There was no doubt Jones was deserving, but it started to feel unlikely he’d realize this great honor. Heck, Alex Dickerson was given No. 25 in 2022. If you were wondering, Pache tallied seven hits over 22 games and Dickerson collected four hits over 13 games wearing the number.

Fortunately, the mindset changed this past winter, and no Brave will ever again wear what is and what should have always been Jones’ No. 25. His jersey number was retired during a pregame ceremony on Saturday. 

“It blows my mind away,” Jones said. “Being next to Mr. Hank Aaron is something that I will never forget. It’s such a great honor.” 

Jones joins Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, Warren Spahn, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Phil Niekro, Eddie Mathews, Aaron and Tom Glavine as the only Braves to have their number retired.

Murphy and Andruw Jones are the only members of this group who have not been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Murphy will need to be elected by a special committee. Jones’ recent support indicates he could be elected by balloting among Baseball Writers' Association of America members within the next two years.

“He’s definitely Hall of Fame material with his body of work,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s still with us. I look over every day and he’s in the clubhouse. He’s watching every day. He’ll do anything if I ask him to do something. He’s a Brave and one of the greatest ones ever.”

Jones produced MLB's third-best bWAR from 1998-2007. The two players who ranked ahead of him within this span were Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. The man ranked immediately behind him was his longtime Braves teammate Chipper Jones, who received a first-ballot HOF induction in 2018.

How great was Andruw Jones defensively? He led all Major Leaguers with a 26.6 defensive bWAR during his 11 full seasons (1997-2007) with the Braves. Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez ranked second with 16.5.

“He established himself as one of the best players in the game,” Chipper Jones said. “And I have no problem saying he’s the best center fielder I’ve ever seen.”

Scott Rolen’s election to the Hall of Fame this year enhanced optimism for Jones, who has seen his vote totals rise in a similar fashion. A player must receive a vote on 75% of the ballots to be elected.

Rolen’s vote total jumped from:
2018: 10.2%
2019: 17.2%
2020: 35.3%
2021: 52.9%
2022: 63.2%
2023: 76.3%

Jones' total has jumped from:
2018: 7.3%
2019: 7.5%
2020: 19.4%
2021: 33.9%
2022: 41.4%
2023: 58.1%

Chipper Jones, Smoltz and Glavine all expressed their congratulations during Saturday’s ceremony. They all have lobbied for their former teammate to soon join them within the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.

“We’ve got one more step and hopefully, it will happen one day,” Chipper Jones said.