Scrappy Second Sacker Gets a Second Chance
By CHARLIE VASCELLARO
COOPERSTOWN
One of the most offensively productive second basemen in Major League Baseball history, Jeff Kent hit 377 career home runs, the most by any player at the position and well in front of Robinson Cano’s 316 second best.
Considering Kent’s 2,461 career hits, 1,518 runs batted in, 1,320 runs scored, and a lifetime .290 batting average and .855 OPS (on base plus slugging percentage), it’s a wonder it took Kent so long to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
After never reaching 50 percent of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote in his 10 years of eligibility on the ballot, Kent finally gained election on the 2025 Contemporary Era Committee Ballot, receiving 14 votes cast by the 16-member panel. Kent was the only player named on the ballot to exceed the 12 votes necessary for election. Carlos Delgado received nine votes, Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly were each selected on six ballots. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received fewer than five votes.
“The emotions are overwhelming—unbelievable,” Kent said on MLB Network. “I didn’t even expect it. For me, there were so many quality guys that the committee had to argue through and vote for. I’m grateful that they considered me and gave it a shot at putting me in.”
Kent played for six teams during his 17-year career and was regarded as a fiery and hot-tempered competitor by both the opposition and teammates alike, which in some way may have contributed to why it took so long for him to be elected to the Hall of Fame. What’s an election, if not a popularity contest?
Kent broke into the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and was traded late in the season with a player to be named later to the New York Mets for pitcher David Cone. He spent parts of five seasons with the Mets as the team’s regular starting second baseman before being traded with José Vizcaíno to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Baerga and Álvaro Espinoza. His brief stint with Cleveland ended when he was part of a blockbuster deal that sent him to the San Francisco Giants and sent Matt Williams to Cleveland.
In San Francisco, Kent evolved into the player that could reach the Hall of Fame. During his six years with the Giants, Kent was named to three National League All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger Awards for being the best hitter at his position, and edged teammate Barry Bonds for the 2000 NL MVP Award. He argued and battled famously with Bonds and was eventually traded by the Giants to the Houston Astros after hitting a career-high 37 home runs in 2002. After two seasons in Houston, Kent was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 and was selected to his fifth All-Star team.
