The Andruw Jones quote here has me wondering about something I’d look up if I had time: he and Chipper have to be at or nearing the top of the list of longest Major League careers without ever finishing lower than first place. In fact, they have to be climbing the list even if you look at professional sports generally. Even the Celtics didn’t finish first more than 9 years running.
5 thoughts on “Never Been Second”
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Jones and Jones are both chasing Smoltz, aren’t they.
Scratch my last comment, I was only considering consecutive seasons and missed your point about “ever” finishing out of first place.
Oops, mea culpa.
I thought there might have been someone on the 49ers, but they missed winning the division by a game in 1991, breaking up what would have been 11 straight division titles. There might be a Canadians player from some era, though.
And between them, they must certainly have the record for unrelated players with the same last name playing together and never finishing below first place.
It’s probably worth noting that Chipper Jones played 8 games in 1993, when the Braves finished first, then did not play in the majors in 1994, when they finished second, then came up for good in 1995, and has indeed never finished out of first in a 12-year career. Not even Ruth, Gehrig or DiMaggio can claim that, although it wasn’t as easy to finish first back then.