Jeff Kent, arguably the greatest power-hitting second baseman in the history of the game, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday night.
The 57-year-old received 14 of a possible 16 votes from the contemporary baseball era committee, two more than the 12 needed for election.
Kent played 17 MLB seasons, compiling 377 career home runs. Of them, 341 came as a second baseman, which is a major-league record.
His career began with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 but was quickly flipped to the Mets in the deal that sent David Cone north of the border. After spending parts of five seasons in Queens, he was traded to Cleveland alongside Jose Vizcaino for Carlos Baerga — perhaps one of the more shortsighted deals in club history.
Kent ultimately landed in San Francisco, where he had his best seasons with the Giants. He was named National League MVP in 2000 by hitting .334 with 33 home runs and 125 RBI. Of his 377 home runs, 175 of them came across six seasons with the Giants, to go with a .903 OPS, a clear beneficiary of sharing a lineup with Barry Bonds.
Bonds, perhaps the greatest offensive talent in baseball history with a record 762 career home runs, was one of eight notable names who were not inducted by the contemporary committee. The feared left-handed slugger, along with 354-game winner Roger Clemens and 500-home-run hitter Gary Sheffield, continues to be punished for their link to steroids — though Sheffield has only been associated, never a proven user.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela, New York Yankees MVP first baseman Don Mattingly, two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves, and former Mets slugger Carlos Delgado, who flirted with 500 home runs himself, also fell short of enshrinement.
For more on Jeff Kent, visit AMNY.com
