27 players appear on the 2026 MLB Hall of Fame ballot. I set out to dig deeper into each of them, but didn’t want to flood things with 27 player profiles. I’ve been trying to group these players in some logical manner through this process, but these two stood out as outliers.

Sure, one could have simply been grouped with other outfielders and the second with the infielders, but that didn’t quite feel right. There are, let’s just say, other circumstances that need to be considered for each of these players.

The Atlanta Braves signed outfielder Andruw Jones as a 16-year-old international amateur free agent out of Curacao in 1993. He’d make his pro debut the next spring and climb quickly through the Braves’ minor league system. Baseball America ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in the sport ahead of the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Jones made his debut in August 1996, hitting just .217/.265/.443 (80 OPS+) in his first 113 PA, but leaped to instant stardom with his performance that postseason. He mashed two home runs in Game 1 of the World Series (a 12-1 drubbing against the Yankees in New York; the Yankees still won the series in six games), becoming the youngest player in MLB history to homer in a World Series game (breaking Mickey Mantle’s mark) and joining Gene Tenace as the only players to homer in each of their first two WS at-bats.

With Marquis Grissom locked into center field, Jones spent the 1997 season as the Braves’ right fielder. He’d slide back over to center the next season, starting a run of 10-straight years in which he took home the NL’s Gold Glove Award for his glove work in the field.

Jones received MVP consideration five times in his career, but never came as close to winning as he did in 2005. He’d play in 160 games that year for Atlanta, hitting .263/.347/.575 (a career-best 136 OPS+) while leading the NL with 51 HR and 128 RBI. Jones received 13 of 30 first-place votes, finishing second to St. Louis’ Albert Pujols.

The first dozen seasons of Jones’ career were spent with the Braves, slashing .263/.342/.497 (115 OPS+) with 330 2B, 368 HR, and 1117 RBI. Jones was a five-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger in that stretch.

After leaving the Braves, Jones’ career took a different turn. He’d sign a two-year, $36.2 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but things turned ugly quickly. Jones struggled at the plate and dealt with injury concerns for the first time in his career (May knee surgery). He’d hit just .158/.256/.249 (35 OPS+) in 238 PA. Los Angeles would negotiate a deferred-payment buyout of the second year on his contract so they could release him following the season.

Jones spent 2009 with the Texas Rangers, 2010 with the Chicago White Sox, and 2011-12 with the New York Yankees before concluding his MLB career. He spent 17 seasons in the league, hitting .254/.337/.486 (111 OPS+) with 383 2B and 434 HR. He totaled 62.7 WAR.

While it likely won’t factor into most Hall of Fame voters’ consideration, Jones then went to Japan and spent two years with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, where he hit .232/.392/.441 with 50 HR.

As I alluded to earlier, there were some “other circumstances” that can’t be overlooked when considering Jones’ place in the Hall of Fame.

On Christmas morning, 2012, Jones was arrested and charged with battery after police responded to a domestic disturbance at his Georgia home. Per a police report, Jones had allegedly “placed his hands around” his wife’s neck and threatened to kill her. While Nicole Jones would file for divorce just a few weeks later, the pair would reconcile. Jones paid a fine and received probation.

The Seattle Mariners signed shortstop Omar Vizquel as a 16-year-old international amateur free agent in April 1984 out of Venezuela. Five years later, despite some subpar minor league hitting lines, he’d make the Mariners’ roster out of spring training. Vizquel would appear in 143 games that first season, but hit a mere .220/.273/.261 (50 OPS+) in 431 PA.

Vizquel spent the next four seasons locked in at shortstop for Seattle. In five years with the team, he was a .252/.309/.303 (70 OPS+) hitter.

Following the 1993 season, Seattle traded Vizquel to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Félix Fermin, first baseman Reggie Jefferson, and cash considerations. Vizquel would become a fixture in Cleveland’s lineup for the next 11 seasons. Much of his value came from his glove — including the final year with the Mariners, he won nine straight AL Gold Glove Awards — but he proved his worth offensively, too, particularly in 1999 when he batted second in between Kenny Lofton and Roberto Alomar, leading to his best offensive season, hitting .333/.397/.436 (116 OPS+).

Vizquel batted .283/.352/.379 (90 OPS+) in his 11 seasons with the Indians, going to three All-Star Games while collecting eight Gold Gloves. Cleveland made two deep postseason runs during his time with the team, losing the 1995 and 1997 World Series (to the Braves and Marlins, respectively).

After the 2004 season, Vizquel reached free agency for the first time before signing a three-year, $12.25 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. The team would end up retaining him for a fourth season with another $5.3 million for 2008. In four seasons with San Francisco, Vizquel won two more Gold Gloves and hit .265/.329/.341 (75 OPS+).

The veteran would spend a season with the Texas Rangers, two with the Chicago White Sox, and one final year with the Toronto Blue Jays before putting an end to his 24-year playing career. All told, he hit .272/.336/.352 (82 OPS+) with 456 2B and 404 SB, going to three All-Star Games and winning 11 Gold Glove Awards. He totaled 45.6 WAR.

Vizquel’s post-playing career remained connected to the sport. He accepted a role as an infield coach with the Angels, spent time as a first base coach with the Tigers, and then landed a job managing the White Sox’s Double-A affiliate. That would last until 2019, when the White Sox organization fired him following an incident between him and a male team employee that resulted in a league investigation. It would take almost two years before the incident became public.

Ashtain O’Neal, then a batboy with the Birmingham Barons, filed suit in August 2021 against Vizquel and the team. O’Neal’s suit alleged that Vizquel had sexually harassed him, specifically targeting him because of his autism. A confidential settlement was reached out of court less than a year later.

Separately, a December 2020 story in The Athletic reported several instances of domestic abuse by Vizquel against his wife, Bianca. Several of the incidents described happened before their marriage, including a 2016 assault that resulted in him being charged with fourth-degree domestic abuse.

Vizquel only released a statement, denying the allegations.