Former second baseman jeff kent has been in the Hall of Famer for a decade, with this year being his last attempt at induction through the Baseball Writers Association of America. Kent received 46.5% of the vote this cycle, well short of the 75% required for adoption. He falls off the ballot and is no longer considered by the BBWAA.
Kent has hovered in the 25-50% vote share range for his last four seasons. He never seemed in danger of falling below the 5% threshold that locks players out of the ballot early, but he also didn’t get the kind of late momentum needed to put him in induction’s striking range bring. If he is to be anchored in Cooperstown, that must come through the Era Committee now. The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee met this winter – Anchor Fred McGriff in the process – meaning Kent won’t be considered again until the 2025-26 off-season at the earliest.
As a right-hander, Kent was one of the game’s better power hitters during his 17-year MLB career. He played nearly 2,300 games for six different clubs, enjoying his best seasons as a member of the Giants. Kent hit .297/.368/.535 during a six-year stretch in San Francisco that spanned from 1997 to 2002. He received MVP votes in five of those campaigns and won the award in 2000 thanks to a massive .334/.424/.596 show with 33 longballs.
Kent finished his career with a .290/.356/.500 line in more than 9500 plate appearances. His 377 career homers are the most of any primary second baseman, while he had 2,461 hits, 1,518 runs and 1,320 goals. He was a five-time All-Star and secured four Silver Slugger Awards while winning the aforementioned MVP. As strong as his offensive contributions were, Kent faced many questions about his glove at the capstone. Those defensive concerns dissuaded enough voters to stop him from introducing it.
While Kent was the only player to “age” from the election that year, unsurprisingly some first-timers dropped out after failing to meet the 5% threshold to see through another season. Bronson Arroyo, RA Dickey, John Lackey, Mike Naples, Huston Street, Matt Cain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Andre Ethier, JJ Hardy, Johnny Peralta, Jared Weber and Jayson Werth fall out of the future consideration.
Among the first-time candidates, only two surpassed the 5% mark to stay on the ballot for at least another year. Carlos Beltrán debuted at 46.5% and appears to have a solid shot at induction at some point. Francisco Rodriguez has a more difficult fight after starting with 10.8% of the vote.