Tonight, the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee unveiled the voting results of this year’s ballot, and Jeff Kent has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Eras Committee was created to give another chance at enshrinement to players who have fallen off the standard BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, whether by receiving less than five-percent of the vote in any given election cycle or seeing their candidacy lapse
after going ten years on the ballot without clearing the 75-percent vote threshold needed for election. The Committee votes in a three-year cycle, considering individuals on the Contemporary Baseball Era player ballot (1980-present), the Contemporary Baseball Era manager/executive/umpire ballot, and the Classic Baseball Era ballot (pre-1980, including the Negro Leagues).
In last year’s cycle, the panel voted on the Classic Baseball Era ballot, electing Dave Parker and Dick Allen to Cooperstown. This cycle, eight players from the Contemporary Era were up for consideration, and three former Yankees appeared on the ballot — Don Mattingly, Roger Clemens, and Gary Sheffield joining Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Dale Murphy, and Fernando Valenzuela. Candidates must receive at least 12 votes from the 16-person committee to be enshrined and at least five votes to remain on the ballot when the Contemporary Baseball Era vote is held again in three years’ time. The panel comprises of Hall of Famers (Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount) , executives (Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan), and members of the media (Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark), with each member able to cast up to three votes.
Kent was the only player to receive enough votes for enshrinement, receiving 14 of a possible 16. He played 17 seasons for the Blue Jays, Mets, Cleveland, Giants, Astros and Dodgers, earning the 2000 NL MVP with San Francisco to go along with five All-Star selections and four Silver Slugger Awards. He retired with the most home runs (377) for a second baseman and amassed 56 fWAR at the position — 20th all-time. He appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot for the full ten years, hitting a high of 46.5-percent of the vote in his final year. He will be enshrined at Cooperstown on July 26th alongside any members voted in the standard election.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela all received fewer than five votes and therefore will not be up for consideration in the next cycle of Contemporary Era voting, though they can return to the ballot in the 2031 cycle. Don Mattingly received a large enough vote share to be considered again in 2028.
Congratulations to Jeff Kent on this achievement!
