For some strange reason, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) don’t think that longtime San Francisco Giants second baseman Jeff Kent belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Kent, who also played MLB ball for the New York Mets, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland, and Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the best hitters ever at the second base position.
That didn’t matter to voters: with 46.5 percent, he fell off the ballot in 2023 after failing to gain election for the tenth and final year.
He still has a shot for induction eventually when a veteran’s committee reviews his case, but he deserved to get in the traditional way.
Stats show he belongs in the elite of his position.
“This is a pretty crazy Jeff Kent stat when you think about it. There are 49 2B in MLB history with over 7k plate appearances and only 2 have a higher career OPS than Kent,” Giants writer Jeff Young tweeted.
This is a pretty crazy Jeff Kent stat when you think about it. There are 49 2B in MLB history with over 7k plate appearances and only 2 have a higher career OPS than Kent. pic.twitter.com/my4VX4u73a
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) January 20, 2023
Rogers Hornsby is in a league of his own, that’s pretty clear.
However, even Charlie Gehringer is comparable to Kent, and the latter did what he did in a much more competitive era.
Kent retired with a very solid .290/.356/.500 line, 377 home runs, 1,320 runs, and 1,518 RBI.
He also hit an impressive 560 doubles.
He is also a five-time All-Star (1999–2001, 2004, 2005), a four-time Silver Slugger award winner (2000–2002, 2005), and took home the 2000 NL MVP award.
If those numbers aren’t deserving of a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, then we don’t know what to tell you.
Again, there are still ways for Kent to be enshrined, but the process is a bit trickier now.
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