Here’s what the Braves’ Andruw Jones said during his Hall of Fame induction

There’s no greater honor than to be here in baseball.

I want to thank Jane and everyone in the Hall of Fame for being so generous to me and my family. There’s no better feeling than being here today at Cooperstown.

I also want to congratulate my fellow inductees, Carlos Beltrán, Jeff Kent and their families. This is a day we’re never going to forget.

I feel like a rookie today surrounded by all these amazing Hall of Famers behind me. There are so many guys here that I loved (to) watch play and I’m happy to be here with them today. I never got to see Willie Mays play, so Ken Griffey was my guy. I wanted to be like him.

For me and Carlos to join Griffey, Willie and these other great center fielders in the Hall of Fame, it’s hard to put into words.

There’s no easy way to get here from the small island of Curaçao, more than 2,000 miles away. But today, Cooperstown and Curaçao are forever joined together.

Being the first Hall of Famer from my island is an incredible moment. That’s why it makes such a memorable day.

I’m overjoyed to share this day with people from my homeland.

So many people helped me get here, helped me get the journey of loving this game and make it here to the major leagues. I want to send a special thank you to Ryan Chirino and Hensley Meulens. They didn’t make it here, but I want to send a shout out to them. Thank you for making me love the game.

All the players from Curaçao owe a tip of the cap to Hensley Meulens, the first player to reach the major leagues from our island. Bam Bam opened the door for many others to chase their dream of being a professional.

When I made it to Atlanta, I knew I could inspire others from Curaçao to reach the major leagues. To watch Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons, Kenley Jansen, Jair Jurrjens, Ceddanne Raphaela, Ivanon Coffie, Randall Simon, Yurendell de Caster, Shairon Martis, Roger Bernadina, Coco Balentien, and Sherten Apostle. I’m so proud of you guys.

To the people of Curaçao, this is truly for you guys. Thank you, Danki. I want to say something in Papamiento for the fans back home.

(Speaks in Papamiento)

This moment is bittersweet because my father, Henry Jones, is not here today. Dad passed away 10 years ago. He showed me how to work hard and play for what it take to become a successful baseball player and a great person. Because he played center field. I wanted to be a center favorite and he passed down every bit of knowledge to the game to me, like how to read balls off the bat. He hit me fly balls from foul pole to foul pole every time in Curaçao so I could track balls down because the ocean breeze made tracking balls very difficult on the island.

He also showed me how to build a strong wrist by rolling a sledgehammer. Everything he taught me had a purpose. Henry Jones was a legend in Curaçao, a great player in his own right. And I’m not standing here in Cooperstown without his constant coaching.

Dad, we did it. I acknowledge you. I know you’re looking down at me now and with a big smile. And I love it. I love you very much.

To my biggest fan, Carmen Jones.

Thank you for being an amazing mom and raising me the right way. You taught me how to be humble.

You taught me so many things in life.

I know you didn’t like when I strike out, but it happened. I have to face so many guys behind me and some of them embarrassed me a lot.

To my big sister Angie, you’ve always been a supporter of me since I was a little kid. Thank you for being there with me throughout my journey supporting me and just being that big sister.

Nicole, you’ve been with me throughout my career. Thank you for being an amazing mother and understanding the life of a baseball player.

To all my kids, Drew and Madison, you understand that Dad was not there as much I wanted to be. I’m so proud of you guys. I love you all.

A big thank you to all my friends and family that are here today and the ones not here. I want to send a shout out to I say earlier to Curaçao. I want to shout out to some of my family from Aruba. I want to say to some families that is in Venezuela. Thank you for the support. I couldn’t do it without you guys.

From the moment I signed as a 16-year-old, the Atlanta Braves treated me as family. I want to thank our Atlanta scout Giovanni Viceisza, Bill Clark, Paul Snyder, Carlos Rios who signed me as international sign free agent at 1993.

I was excited to start my journey and I couldn’t pick a better team.

To all my minor-league managers, Paul Runge, Jim Saul, Nelson Norman, Randy Ingle, Jeff Cox, Bill Dancy, and all the coaching staff that prepared me to be a major league baseball player. Thank you.

I also was fortunate to work with great coaches Gary Pettis and Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Thank you.

Nobody in the Braves organization had a bigger impact on me than manager Bobby Cox.

He put a 19-year-old in the World Series in the lineup and believed in me. Bobby had confidence in me and helped me become the best player I could have been. He commanded respect and created a winning culture: “You play hard, you play to win, and you play always to give your honest effort.” Simple rules to play the game.

For my 12 years with the Braves, he was my only manager. He was like a second father to me. I know he’s looking down, laughing, and be so happy for me and my family. Thank you, Bobby.

And if I was in a slump, Bobby would send me to Hank Aaron’s office. And I felt like I was going in to see like somebody that I was in trouble. But Hank never talked with me about baseball. He always talked, “How’s your family? How’s everything? How’s your kids?” He meant to trying to relax your mind and take your mind away from the game because he knew how hard the game was.

Hank was one of the greatest ever to play this game and an even better human being. We miss you, Hank. Thank you.

It’s an honor to join Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, my brother from another mother, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Fred McGriff, Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia, Derek Jeter. I know Mariano (Rivera) is not here today.

It was a pleasure to play with you guys.

Larry Wayne Jones, some call him Chipper. Chipper pushed for me for my induction for many years. The Jones Boys are in Cooperstown now. Thank you.

To put on the Braves jersey was special.

Special thank you to former general manager, team president, Hall of Famer John Schuerholz, executive Terry McGuirk, Derek Schiller that took the train here.

I’m proud of you, Alex Anthopoulos, Mike Plant, and the entire front office, especially Brad Jones that made everything happen with (what) we see all these beautiful people with the 25 hat.

To all the coaches, trainers, medical staff, clubhouse attendants, PR, and all those who work hard behind the scenes in Atlanta, thank you. And a special thank you to my clubhouse kids that I always did the run to KFC for me. Tony and Calvin, thank you for the runs.

And I want to take this time to salute the best fans in the world.

It didn’t matter if we were in Chicago, New York, or LA, or wherever we win. You guys supported us. It’s an honor to have a Braves hat on my plaque. Thank you, Braves country.

While most of my career took place in Atlanta, I also played for the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and Yankees. I was lucky to play for manager, Hall of Famer Joe Torre, Ron Washington, Ozzie Guillen, and Joe Girardi. Shout out to all my teammates for pushing me to where I am today.

I want to say thank you to the fans in Japan. I played two years over there. I won a championships in 2013. Thank you for taking me in there and letting me run and win a championship over there in Japan. Thank you.

Also want to thank my agent, longtime agent, since he believed in me and carry me on through ups and downs. Scott Boras, Mike Fioei, the whole Boras corporation.

Thank you for all you guys did for me and my family.

I love this game. Baseball has given me so much and has been a part of my entire life.

Throwing the ball with my dad, the ups and downs of my career, and now still working for the Atlanta Braves organization, I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Hitting home runs are great, but I took a lot of pride in my defense because that was winning games. And the Braves won a lot of games because of pitching and defense.

You can go 0-for-4 and still impact the game by taking away singles and extra-base hits. I worked hard on my routes and a preparation. I wanted to be the best center fielder.

I never played this game think about going into the Hall of Fame. I was blessed to play for an amazing organization with a winning culture. The game is a lot easier when you focus on the team, not yourself. That’s the beauty of the game.

But when baseball is your life, there’s no way to put in words what it mean to finish a career with a Hall of Fame plaque. To everyone who helped me on my journey from Curaçao to Cooperstown, thank you and God bless.