Jeff Kent has earned election into the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 per voting by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee announced on Sunday night.
Candidates needed to receive 12 votes (75 percent) on ballots cast by the 16-member committee to earn election. Kent received 14 votes (87.5%).
The rest of the results are as follows: Carlos Delgado (9 votes, 56.3%); Dale Murphy (6 votes, 37.5%); Don Mattingly (6 votes, 37.5%); Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received less than five votes.
Kent built his career reputation on an uncommon trait for a second baseman: run production. He hit 351 of his 377 home runs as a second baseman, making him the all-time leader at the position, and his 1,518 RBIs rank near the top of the position’s all-time list.
Solid early in his career, Kent’s game transformed after he arrived in San Francisco in 1997, teaming with Barry Bonds to form the Giants’ most feared power duo since Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Over the next six seasons, he batted .297 with a .903 OPS, topping 100 RBIs each year and edging Bonds for the 2000 National League MVP.
Kent earned five All-Star selections and four Silver Sluggers, and kept producing deep into his thirties. He was also a force in the postseason, where he hit nine homers with an .840 OPS in 49 games.
Members of the voting committee are: Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount; MLB executives Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan; and media members/historians Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark.
Leave a Reply