Andruw Jones with Atlanta
photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo)
After 11 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Andruw Jones is now a member of the LA Dodgers.
While slumping at the plate the past three seasons, Jones was unsurpassed in center field on defense.
But there is concern at Vero Beach where the Dodgers train.
The Los Angeles Times is carrying an article about Andruw Jones' weight.
Bill Plaschke had this to say about Jones:
"The newest Dodgers center fielder looks like the newest Dodgers wrestler.
He stalks up to home plate in his Dodgers whites and you're like, this is him?
This is the sleek center fielder who has won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves?
This is the sturdy star who has never missed more than nine games in a season?
This is the Dodgers' athletic new stud?
The Dodgers won't say if they are worried, but they have to be worried.
Jones smiles and says he will be fine, but the numbers don't lie.
At his peak, when he hit 40-plus home runs with 120-plus runs batted in, he weighed 235 pounds.
He is now about 10 pounds heavier.
At his peak, he was 28 years old.
He will spend most of this season at age 31.
"You gain weight when you get older, it happens to everyone, it's just a fact," Jones said.
That fact could be wearing on his spring batting average, which is .118 after seven games.
He has one single, one double, one RBI and a whole bunch of at-bats that looked like his three against the New York Mets on Tuesday.
In the first inning against Johan Santana, he struck out flailing.
In the third inning against Santana, he bounced weakly to shortstop."
Those remarks are not particularly flattering but, once again the timely adage fits, only time will tell.
Jones has been hailed as the best center fielder in the game.
photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo)