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The Best Rookie Cards And Early Career Cards Of Hall Of Fame Candidate Andruw Jones

Andruw Jones

Andruw Jones was one of the best defensive center fielders, ever. That alone would make him a notable player, but his offensive contributions were also significant enough that he is a Hall of Fame candidate with a real chance to someday be enshrined in Cooperstown.

But who is Jones? What are his Hall of Fame credentials? And will he end up elected to the Hall? What are his best rookie cards? And what other Jones cards are worth chasing?

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Who is Andruw Jones?

Andruw Jones made his major league debut at the tender age of 19, just two short years after being signed out of his native Curacao. He went on to play parts of 17 seasons in the major leagues, most famously with the Atlanta Braves.

During his career, Jones won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. Advanced metrics back up the awards, suggesting Jones was one of the best defensive center fielders…ever.

He was an All-Star five times and won a Silver Slugger award. The Silver Slugger came in 2005, when he put up a monster season that saw him hit 51 home runs and drive in 128 runs. He hit 30 or more home runs seven times during his playing days.

For this career, Jones smacked 434 home runs, an impressive total. While his overall batting line of .254/.337/.486 is good for an OPS of .823. That works out to an OPS+ 111, which might feel low by Hall of Fame standards, but the combination of power and defense is compelling.

His career total of 62.7 WAR ranks 14th all-time among center fielders. Of the players above him on the list, 10 are Hall of Famers. The others? Sure-thing future Hall of Famer Mike Trout is one. Carlos Beltran is another, who is on the ballot for the first time in 2023.

The final player, Kenny Lofton, has a solid Hall of Fame case despite falling off the ballot after one year. He may be the greatest “one and done” Hall of Fame candidate ever. If you’d like an article on Lofton, let us know at card_lines on Twitter.

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Andruw Jones and the Hall of Fame

Andruw Jones is an imperfect Hall of Fame candidate, admittedly. The knocks against him include his pedestrian career batting average (.254), his sharp decline after age 30, and a domestic battery accusation against him from his then-wife.

Impressions of Jones are changing with the passage of time. When he debuted on the Hall of Fame ballot, he scored a meager 7.3% of the vote. That’s a lot closer to falling off the ballot (not getting 5% or more) than election (75%).

After not seeing the needle move at all in 2019, he’s seen a steady rise since then that saw him receive 41.4% of the vote in 2022. For 2023, he once again missed the 75% requirement, but did have another nice bump to 58.1%.

Still, the steady rise certainly suggests someone who will eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Top 3 Andruw Jones Rookie Cards

Andruw Jones made his professional debut in 1994, and his first cardboard appearances were in 1995. According to the Trading Card Database (TCDB.com), Jones appeared on 14 cards that season, although only a handful of those are considered major league cards.

1995 was the tail end of the junk wax era, and values here are helped by the fact that 1995 was kind of a rough time for baseball. The 1994 strike canceled the World Series and delayed the start of the 1995 season.

Interest in the sport and baseball cards cratered in 1995, meaning fewer 1995 cards were produced and purchased. Not a good time, and having lived through it, I must say I’m pleased that the COVID card boom has not so far led to a similar bust.

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1995 Bowman Andruw Jones #23

Bowman lived up to its reputation as “the home of the rookie card” in 1995 by giving Jones his first appearance in a major league product. The card has a reasonable PSA population number, with PSA 10s making up a decent percentage of graded cards (15.5%). For a mid-90s rookie card, those are all very good things.

In a PSA 10 slab, these already sell strongly for prices between $315-450, trending towards the higher end of that range.

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CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Bowman Andruw Jones #232,325PSA 10 = 362PSA 10 = $315-450

1995 Bowman’s Best Andruw Jones rookie card #7

Bowman’s Best offers a premium offering compared to the flagship Bowman product. The total PSA population is actually higher than the baseline product, although the PSA 10 percentage is lower (10.8%). That is not surprising, as these foil cards are condition sensitive and prone to scratching and chipping.

A PSA 10 sells within range of the 1995 Bowman offering, although there are fewer recent comps here on PSA 10s.

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CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Bowman’s Best Andruw Jones #73,450PSA 10 = 375PSA 10 = $400

1995 Bowman’s Best Refractors Andruw Jones rookie card #7

Bowman’s Best also offered Refractor versions in 1995. These were a tough pull and have significant condition sensitivity. PSA has only graded a total of 268 copies. There are a surprisingly high number of those that were graded with qualifiers (91/268) and there are only five PSA 10’s.

If you can find one of these for a reasonable price in a PSA 9 or PSA 10, it’s worth grabbing if your collecting budget allows.

Shop for 1994 Bowman’s Best Refractors Andruw Jones rookie card on eBay

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Bowman’s Best Refractors Andruw Jones #7268PSA 9 = 70PSA 9 = $260

Andruw Jones pre-rookie & minor league cards

Not surprisingly since he made his first card appearances that year and had only 63 professional games under his belt heading into the season, the vast majority of Jones’ 1995 cards are minor league or prospect cards.

The PSA counts here are low, almost shockingly low in some cases. This can make these cards a fun chase, especially since some of these cards aren’t too pricy when found.

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1995 Best Andruw Jones #50

The 1995 Best Top Prospects set featured some of the top players from the minor leagues. The Jones card has a total PSA population of around 750, making it far from rare but still fairly low population for the era. In a PSA 10 slab, this will cost a couple of hundred dollars. But PSA 9’s sell for far less, and are worth considering for that reason.  

Shop for Andruw Jones 1995 Best rookie card on eBay

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Best Andruw Jones #50755PSA 10 = 143PSA 10 = $200

1995 Best Autographs Andruw Jones

Best offered up a Jones autograph as part of their 1995 product. While the print run isn’t known and is likely on the higher side for an auto by modern standards, the card has only been graded a combined seven times by PSA/DNA.

The card sports what I consider an attractive design and a horizontal layout, and is rather affordable in ungraded form.

Shop for 1995 Best Autos of Andruw Jones on eBay 

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Best Autographs Andruw Jones7PSA 10 = 1RAW = $15-25

1995 Multi-Ad Macon Braves Andruw Jones & 1995 Multi-Ad Macon Braves Update Andruw Jones

In 1995, Multi-Ad produced two team sets for the Macon Braves, including a regular release and an update. Jones has cards in both sets. With only 50 graded copies between them and no raw sets available on eBay at the time of this writing, this is a tough one to find but a great Jones card if you can find one.

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CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 Multi-Ad Macon Braves Andruw Jones22PSA 10 = 3NA
1995 Multi-Ad Macon Braves Update Andruw Jones29PSA 10 = 7NA

1995 SP Top Prospects Andruw Jones #15

Upper Deck SP, a prospects product that featured die-cut cards and shiny finish that is condition sensitive, included Jones in the 1995 SP Top Prospects set. He actually appears on two cards in the set, giving collectors options (or two cards to chase).

The story here is again low PSA population, not a lot of copies available for sale, but affordable prices when they do come available.

Shop for 1995 SP Top Prospects Andruw Jones rookie cards on eBay

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 SP Top Prospects Andruw Jones #15230PSA 9 = 143PSA 9 = $40

1995 SP Top Prospects Autographs Andruw Jones

1995 SP Autographs offers another exciting Andruw Jones early autograph to chase. PSA has only graded two copies.

Shop for 1995 SP Top Prospects Andruw Jones auto rookie cards on eBay

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
1995 SP Top Prospects Autographs Andruw Jones2NANA

Final thoughts on the best Andruw Jones rookie cards

Andruw Jones Hall of Fame case is starting to come into focus, suggesting that he’ll eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame.

If you collect Hall of Fame rookie cards, were a Braves fan in the 1990’s and 2000s, or just enjoy adding interesting low-pop cards with upside to your collection, there’s likely a place in your collection for an early career Anduw Jones card, and there’s an Andruw Jones card for just about every taste and budget.

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More Cardlines Hall of Fame candidate rookie card coverage

Mike D.

Mike D

Mike D. has collected cards for over 35 years, since he bought his first pack of Topps at the corner store in 1987. His fandom,  collecting interests, and contributions to Cardlines center around baseball in general and the Baseball Hall of Fame specifically.

Mike's collecting focus is centered on graded cards, mostly rookie cards, of Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers. Lately, he's been enjoying dabbling in graded minor league cards. A collector/investor with a "buy and hold" approach, Mike takes the long-term view with his collection.
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