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It's about time Andruw Jones' defense gets the respect it deserves

I watched part of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption yesterday, and when Michael Wilbon and guest co-host Bob Ryan discussed the greatest center fielders of all time, they mentioned Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., and Jim Edmonds. While it might be hard to argue that Mays, winner of 12 Gold Gloves, wasn't the greatest center fielder of all-time, and it might also be difficult to argue that Griffey (winner of 10 Gold Gloves) and Edmonds (winner of 8 Gold Gloves) weren't two of the top 5 (or so) center fielders of all-time, one name seems to consistently get looked over in this list, and that's Andruw Jones.

Andruw Jones, former five-time All-Star for the Atlanta Braves, won ten consecutive Gold Gloves in center field from the years 1998 through 2007. This ranks him in a tie for second with Al Kaline, Ichiro Suzuki, and Ken Griffey Jr. for most Gold Gloves by an outfielder. He's also one of only five center fielders to record at least 400 putouts in a season six times. The other four were: Willie Mays, Richie Ashburn, Kirby Puckett, and Max Carey.

Not only that, but Andruw Jones had a career defensive WAR of 24.1, which means that his teams won 24 more games with him in center field (just based on his defense alone) than with an average player at the position. That is the single best career outfield dWAR of all-time. Willie Mays, by comparison, ended up with a dWAR of 17.9.

Sure, I could stop there, but I won't. When it comes to defensive runs saved by center fielders, Andruw Jones ranks first all-time with 236. Willie Mays is second on the list, with 183 runs saved - a full 53 behind Jones. If we were to look at defensive runs saved for any position, here's the top 5:

1. Brooks Robinson: 292

2. Mark Belanger: 240

3. Ozzie Smith: 239

4. Andruw Jones: 236

5. Roberto Clemente: 204

Again, while it may be hard to argue that Willie Mays wasn't the greatest center fielder of all-time, the only player that could make a serious case isn't Ken Griffey Jr. and isn't Jim Edmonds. It's Andruw Jones. In fact, looking at the before-mentioned numbers, perhaps those positions could be flipped. The only player that could make a case for being a better center fielder than Andruw Jones isn't Ken Griffey Jr. or Jim Edmonds; it's Willie Mays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andruw_Jones

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/6/6/4392890/andruw-jones-beef-animal

http://www.hardballtimes.com/hall-monitor-the-case-for-andruw-jones/
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