In his final year on the BBWAA ballot, Jeff Kent received 46.5% of the vote, his highest total since debuting at 15.2% in 2014.
Kent’s Cooperstown case rests primarily on his power as a second baseman with 377 home runs while playing the position. Kent, a very good player, was selected to five All-Star Games and named the 2000 NL MVP. His WAR total in 2000 was 7.1, 5th in the NL behind fellow-snubbee Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Randy Johnson, and teammate Barry Bonds.
The knocks against Kent include a career 55.4 WAR, 19th among second basemen. That’s behind non-Hall of Famers Lou Whitaker (75.1), Bobby Grich (71.1), Robinson Cano (68.1), Willie Randolph (65.9), and Chase Utley (64.5).
Does Kent belong in the Hall of Fame? Should the home runs alone earn him a spot among the greatest of the greats?
I’m not sure whether I’d vote for Kent in the Hall, but I’d certainly rank Whitaker and Grich, at least, above him.
Whitaker should be in the Hall in my opinion. The fact that he received less than 5% support his first year on the ballot is a travesty.