Jeff Kent Was a career .290 hitter and hit the most home runs for a second baseman (377).
Yet he failed to get even 50% of the vote in his final year. hall of fame Eligibility
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Jeff Kent #21 of the San Francisco Giants is at bat during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, California.
(Tom Hawke / Allsport)
players need at least 75% to get in, and only Scott Rolen Got the required percentage on Tuesday night.
Kent won an MVP in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants and had 2,461 hits and 1,518 RBIs, both more than Rolen. Kent also won four Silver Slugger Awards while Rolen earned one.
One could certainly argue that Kent should be in, especially as Rolen is now getting a plaque in Cooperstown – and Kent is making his case.
Jeff Kent of the San Francisco Giants at bat against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 8, 2000 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
(Sports News via Getty Images)
8-time Gold Glover, World Series champion inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame
“Voting has been a head-scratching embarrassment over the years,” Kent told the San Francisco Chronicle, “Baseball is missing some generations of great players who were the best in their era because some non-polling people keep comparing those players to players who have already been voted in from previous generations and influence the votes. are doing.”
Rolen’s stellar defense gave him a career high WAR (wins above replacement) – 70.1 to 55.4. He was an eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, hitting .281 with a .855 OPS over his 17-year career. Kent failed to win the defensive award.
Advanced analytics have let voters analyze careers in greater depth than ever before, which has helped Rolen’s case and kept the conversation going for many other players.
In his first year of eligibility, Rolen received 10.2% of the vote, the lowest ever for a Hall of Famer. Kent got as low as 14.0% in his second year, yet his 46.5% from yesterday was the highest he’d ever gotten.
San Francisco Giant Jeff Kent pumps his fist after hitting a two-run home run against the Anaheim Angels in the sixth inning in Game Five of the World Series on October 24, 2002 in San Francisco.
(MONICA DAVIE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Kent’s only hope is that future committees vote him out, which has been the path of Harold Baines, Gil Hodges and Fred McGriff in recent years.