| Doug Benton. 24th June, 2005 - 10:03 pm
 Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones has always had the potential to be the next great thing in baseball. Ever since he hit two home runs in Yankee Stadium during the World Series as a nineteen year old, Jones has carried the title of the next Willie Mays on his shoulders. Now, for the first time, he is beginning to crawl out of such lofty expectations and has become a difference maker for the Atlanta Braves.
Jones has always been considered one of the game’s best defensive outfielders, but his bat always left him in the middle of the pack. Maybe it was because Chipper Jones always took the spotlight, allowing Andruw to hit his 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs with nobody asking for more. Or maybe it was because Andruw found out at a young age that he could put up these wonderful stats on just his pure talent. However, Andruw Jones decided this year was going to be different.
He came to spring training with a new outlook on the game and it showed as he kept a torrid pace all the way to opening day. Then when the real season started, Andruw went back to playing second fiddle to Chipper and allowing Chipper to carry the offense for the first part of the season. Then what looked like to be a devastating blow when Chipper went down in Pittsburgh, turned into the stage Andruw always needed.
Anduw took control of the line-up and became the leader of a group that featured more rookies than veterans. Andruw began drawing more walks, driving runners in whenever possible, and provided a pop in the middle of the order that the Braves desperately needed.
Going into the weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles, Andruw is hitting .267 with 21 home runs and 49 RBI. He has carried the Braves through a very rough stretch and now has them in the thick of a division race with some of their key players due back in the next few weeks.
Let’s just hope that Andruw continues to be a force at the plate as he is in the field when the rest of the team’s stars come back to action. If so, we could be seeing a phenom coming of age and embarking on a very memorable career. |
