Jeff Kent’s Last Ride: Are big home runs enough for the final jump in the Hall of Fame?

Jeff Kent’s Last Ride: Are big home runs enough for the final jump in the Hall of Fame?

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Five-time All-Star and 2000 National League MVP, Jeff Kent has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for the 10th time this year. As such, it’s his final ride in the BBWAA poll and not much drama. He will not get his 75% of the vote and will be out of the vote without his name being officially recognized.

this teeth But there’s a good chance he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame by committee election, as Fred McGriff did this year. should he make it? Should he have been more loved in the BBWAA poll?So far his highest vote share was last year he had 32.7 which is less than half but could be higher . Let’s see.

Kent’s case is an aggressive one. No, it’s not him yelling at strangers on the subway, it’s his bat. This was good for his 123 OPS+. He had his 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBI, and 1,320 RBI.

Of the primary second basemen who have appeared in at least 700 games, only Kent and Inner Circle great Rogers Hornsby have batted .500 or better. Among starting second basemen, Kent ranks 12th in runs and 13th in hits, but his calling card has been his card, especially at his position. It’s power compared to other players. In doubles, Craig is his fifth behind Biggio, Knapp, Lajoie, Charlie, Goeringer, and Robinson Cano. Only Lajoie and Hornsby have more of his RBI, with Kent both within 100 of him.

And of course, among primary second basemen, Kent has the all-time home run tally with 377. Kano is 335 and he is second, Hornsby is 301 and next is Vizio with 291 and Rhein with 282 is Sandberg. of Kent.

There is a strong admiration for “entering the Hall of Fame”. A home run is the single best thing a hitter can do at bat, and Kent has had more of his position than anyone else who has ever played by a good margin. There should be bonus points for that, right?

We could have a little more fun with his power numbers and show how consistent he’s been with his power numbers over the last decade or so.

If you look for players who hit at least 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in a season and doubled more than half of the time, Kent did so 10 times. Kano, Hornsby and Joe Gordon did it seven times. Dan Ugra did it six times. No one else has done it more than 5 times.

How about 25 home runs and 100 RBIs in Second Soccer? Kent was second with six and Kano and Hornsby with four. Gordon and Chase Utley did it three times, but no one else has more than two seasons like that. Hell, only Sandberg, Alfonso Soriano, Brett Boone and Bobby Doerr did it twice. that’s it. He is the only second baseman to hit 25 HR 100 RBI in multiple seasons, and Kent has done it six times.

It’s truly the dominant document for his particular skill set.

Kent, who is commonly thought to be a poor defender due to his lack of range at second base, appears to be hurt by the new school’s polling view, which emphasizes grabs more than before. What’s more, the period in which he collected all these quite a few stats was a huge offensive era in baseball history. He was tied for 27th in home runs and eighth in RBIs.

This significantly reduces the WAR and JAWS measurements.

Kent ranks 19th among second basemen in WAR, well below the average of current Hall of Famers, and sits in the ballpark of Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia, and Tony Phillips. In JAWS he is 21st, actually behind Pedrioa and Kinsler. He’s not far ahead of Ben Zobrist. To be clear, all very good players, but this is definitely not a Hall of Fame company.

However, Kent should have much better luck on the Age Committees. This year’s panel initially consisted of 3 media his members, 6 executives and 7 Hall of Famers (Chipper Jones dropped out at the last minute and was replaced by an executive, but we all gets the point). Smaller groups of this type are much less likely to delve into the details of WAR or JAWS rankings and are much more likely to focus on aggregate statistics. It’s also possible that Kent will bring a defender or two into the room, perhaps his former teammates vouching for how professional he was or how impressive a hitter he was. .It can rock a room.

Looking back at players close to Kent on WAR at second base, you’ll find names like Billy Herman, Joe Gordon, Bid McPhee, and Bobby Doerr, but he’s Nellie Fox, Johnny Evers, Tony Lazzeri, and Red.・It surpasses Shawn Diensto considerably. And Bill Mazellowski. All of these players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but none have been voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Instead, they waited for the committee’s selection. Can Kent follow in their footsteps?

The Modern Baseball Era Committee met at a meeting this past winter to discuss the players portion of the ballot. It looks like the same committee will meet again in December 2025 at his 2026 Hall of Fame class. Kent will certainly be on that vote, and there’s a good chance he will.

Jeff Kent hasn’t been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet, but actually being out of the BBWAA vote might be the best way for him. Considering only the power of the second baseman, I think he has a place.



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