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Jeff Kent HOF chances?
LandrysFedora
Posts: 1,872 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
Jeff Kent was the biggest mover (up 17%) in this years baseball HOF vote tally. Kent, on paper, should be a HOF lock as a 2nd baseman. His career numbers compare or excel other 2nd basemen already in the hall. So why is he not in? On this years list my opinion is he's the one guy who should be in. Is he not in yet because he wasn't a media darling and lost votes for that reason? Your thoughts?
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First, to dispense with the obvious and painful argument, Kent was a whole lot better than Harold Baines, so if that's the new yardstick then he has to get in someday.
Beyond that, he'd be a lower tier HOFer, but not in the obvious mistake class, and folks in that class get in mostly on good will with voters and/or they hit lots of HR. I know nothing about Kent's bank of goodwill, but he did hit a lot of HR, especially for a second baseman. That he did it playing in SF in the late 90's /early 00's - and didn't do it before then, casts some suspicion on HOW he did it, and that may hurt him. (In his 20's Kent averaged 5 batter-runs per 162 games. He averaged 24 from age 36 to age 39. Yes, I'm suspicious.)
On the merits, there are two big roadblocks:
FWIW, I wouldn't vote for him, but I think he's got a decent shot at getting in the regular way, and an excellent chance at getting in eventually through one of the back doors.
Has to be one of the best hitting 2nd basemen of all time!
edited to add; I wasn't aware he was a bad defender, that should hurt him.
He was brutal. I'm guessing without looking that Whitaker has the highest WAR of second basemen not in the Hall. I'm basing this on knowing that Sweet Lou had a higher WAR then Robby Alomar. For sure Whitaker's is much higher then Kent
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Lou has a pretty good OPS+ number to go with some GG's!
All true, but if I have to pick just one 2B for the Hall, it's Grich. Grich played his whole career in pitcher's parks and it hurts his absolute numbers, but he's the best hitting 2B not already in the HOF, and he's got a mantle full of Gold Gloves, too. Whitaker does have more WAR than Grich, but that's only because he played longer; per game, Grich is behind only HOFers (and ahead of most of them).
None of which is to put down Whitaker; if I get two votes, Whitaker is the second. And that's where I'd stop.
I agree with all this.
In earlier eras, when second basemen weren't expected to necessarily hit for power, Kent would've been voted into the Hall by the baseball writers.