ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Atlanta Braves will retire No. 25 in honor of Andruw Jones later this season.
The Braves announced Monday the outfielder will be honored in a special number retirement ceremony Sept. 9. The Braves will play the Pittsburgh Pirates after the ceremony.
During his 12 seasons with the Braves, Jones won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He was voted to the All-Star Team five times.
In 2005, Jones won the Silver Slugger Award, the NL Hank Aaron Award and the Major League Player of the Year.
Jones finished his Major League career with 1,933 hits, 1,289 RBIs and 434 home runs. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jones is from Curacao, an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
“It’s a great honor getting your number retired. You don’t think about things like that while you’re playing. You just play the game you love,” Jones said in a statement released by the team. “I’m thankful to the Braves for giving me the opportunity to play the game I love. Being the first kid from Curaçao to have his jersey retired is also an honor. So many kids who grew up there watching me play and this will give them hope on what they can do in their careers.”
Jones signed with the Braves in 1993 as an amateur free agent and made his Major League debut in August 1996. Two months later, at the age of 19, Jones became the youngest player to hit a home run in the World Series, when he posted a two-homer game in Game 1 of the 1996 Fall Classic against the New York Yankees.
The Braves have previously retired 10 numbers. ___
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