Jeff Kent

Jeffrey Franklin Kent

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
School University of California
High School Edison High School (Huntington Beach)
Debut April 12, 1992
Final Game September 27, 2008
Born March 7, 1968 in Bellflower, CA USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2026

Biographical Information[edit]

Jeff Kent, the 2000 National League MVP, was a second baseman and five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee as part of the Class of 2026. He ended his career with over 500 doubles, 370 home runs, and 1,500 RBIs, which made him an excellent candidate for Cooperstown in view of his position - second baseman -, although this was not borne out in the BBWAA voting.

As a testament to how unusual he is, of the ten most similar players (based on the similarity scores method, through age 37), only Ryne Sandberg (a Hall of Famer) is a second baseman. His offensive numbers are more usually associated with a first baseman or a corner outfielder.

Early career[edit]

Born in California, Kent went to high school and then college in that state before being chosen in the 20th round of the 1989 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He led the short-season New York-Penn League with 13 home runs in his first pro season in 1989. Kent played in the Blue Jays minor league system for three years before coming up to the majors in 1992. He showed good power in Single A ball in 1989 and 1990, but struggled a bit in Double A ball in 1991. He did not stay long with the Blue Jays: on August 27, 1992, he was traded to the New York Mets alongside another top prospect, OF Ryan Thompson, in return for P David Cone. It was a trade that worked out well for both sides, as the Mets obtained two talented young players to propo up an aging and declining team, while Cone helped the Jays win the first World Series title in franchise history that fall. Kent was hitting .240 in 65 games at the time of the trade, with an OPS+ of 110, but he did not have a set position. With the Mets, he hit .239 in 37 games, with an OPS+ of 97. His combined numbers were good enough to get him named to the 1992 Topps All-Star Rookie Team as the second baseman.

He was a regular with the Mets from 1993 to 1996, twice hitting over 20 homers during that span with an OPS+ that was always above 100. However, these were rough years for the Mets, and he never was considered a start even though he was one the team's few good hitters year after year. In the middle of the 1996 season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians alongside SS Jose Vizcaino in return for 2B Carlos Baerga and SS Alvaro Espinoza. The Indians clearly won that trade (Baerga, who was considered the best player in the deal at the time, faded quickly once he arrived in New York), but the Indians did hold on to Kent, instead trading him to the San Francisco Giants the following winter as part of the package to acquire 3B Matt Williams, who was a big star at the time. Kent did not do much in his brief time with Cleveland but did get to play in the postseason for the first time, goin 1 for 8 as the Indians were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles in the Division Series.

Mature career[edit]

Kent had been a solid player since his debut, but he didn't become a star until he joined the Giants in 1997, by which time he was nearly 30 years old. His power went up, but he was not usually in the top 10 in the league in home runs. Instead, he was usually one of the leaders in doubles. In a typical season, he would hit 40 doubles and 30 homers - excellent power for a middle infielder. When he was named the National League MVP in 2000, he did not have a season that stood out particularly. His batting average of .334 was higher than usual (he would normally hit in the .290s), but his 41 doubles, 33 homers and 125 RBIs were in line with his production in previous and following years. It was speculated that he largely won the award because reporters were getting tired of voting for his teammate, Barry Bonds, whose home run totals were still human at that point - he would explode the following year. The Giants were a string thanks to having him and Bonds in the middle of the line-yup, and reached the postseason three times during that period, in 1997, 2000 and 2002, when they made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.

He made the All-Star team five times in the period from 1999 to 2005. In 2002, he reported to spring training with a broken thumb. He explained to incredulous reporters that he had sustained the injury while "washing his truck", an expression which for a while reporters took pleasure in using as an euphemism for all sorts of things. The truth soon came out that he had in fact been popping wheelies on his motorcycle and fell. He healed quickly and hardly missed any time while the Giants made it to the World Series that year.

In 2003 and 2004, he played for the Houston Astros, and then continued to hit well at an advanced age. In 2005, he was by far the biggest offensive force on the Los Angeles Dodgers, with 36 doubles, 29 home runs, and 105 RBI. Although he has missed 30 games due to injuries in 2006, he was still close to the team lead in home runs. On January 21, 2009 Kent announced his retirement after 17 seasons. As mentioned above, his career numbers are excellent for a middle infielder. He was never considered to be a great fielder, but he was not an albatross at second base either, since he was never moved from the position, even when he was nearing 40. He could also play third and first base, which quickened his route to the majors (the Blue Jays used him as a sort of super utility player in his rookie season, before he was traded).

In his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2014, he received 87 votes, or 15.2%. This was considered quite low given his resumé, but the ballot was crowded with excellent players, including three other first-timers who gained election that year, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas. In 2015, facing another strong ballot, he dropped to 14%. He then stalled around that mark, with support of 16.7% in 2017, 14.5% in 2018 and then 18.1% in 2019. These were years when the Hall of Fame ballot was particularly strong, with three or four players gaining election every year, a situation that depressed the voting totals of qualified but less glamorous down-ballot candidates like Kent, Fred McGriff, Larry Walker and Gary Sheffield. In 2020, with the logjam cleared, he moved up to 27.5% and in 2021, he increased his total to 32.4%. He moved up to 32.7% in 2022, but with only one year remaining, it was clear he was not going to make it. Indeed, in spite of a big jump in support in 2023, which got him up to 46.5%, his name was dropped off the ballot. It was now up to the Veterans Committee to deal with his case. They did not waste time to get him elected, as in the election held on December 7, 2025, he received 14 of 16 votes and was elected easily. He was the only one of eight candidates from the "contemporary era" to gain election that year. That made him part of the "Class of 2026", to be formally inducted in July of 2026.

Kent's son, Kaeden Kent, attended Texas A&M University and was selected in the 3rd round of the 2025 amateur draft.

Notable Achievements[edit]

1992 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
5-time NL All-Star (1999-2001, 2004 & 2005)
NL MVP (2000)
4-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2000, 2001, 2002 & 2005)
20-Home Run Seasons: 12 (1993, 1995, 1997-2005 & 2007)
30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1998, 2000 & 2002)
100 RBI Seasons: 8 (1997-2002, 2004 & 2005)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (2000, 2002 & 2005)
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 2026

NL MVP
1999	2000	2001
Chipper Jones	Jeff Kent	Barry Bonds

Records Held[edit]

Home runs, second baseman, career, 351

Related Sites[edit]

Jeff Kent at the SABR Bio Project

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Jeff Kent

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Biographical Information[edit]

Early career[edit]

Mature career[edit]

Notable Achievements[edit]

Records Held[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

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