Jeff Kent, longtime second baseman who played for six teams but had his best years with the San Francisco Giants, has been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era Committee. Kent received
votes from 14 of the 16 committee members, two more than the amount necessary to be elected.
Carlos Delgado received nine votes, while Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy received six votes apiece. Fernando Valenzuela, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Gary Sheffield all received fewer than five votes, meaning that they are ineligible to be included on the Contemporary Era ballot when it comes back around in three years.
If you opt to exclude Bonds and Clemens because of performance enhancing drug issues, then none of the candidates had a particularly compelling case. I wouldn’t have voted for Kent, but he’s a borderline case, and there are a number of weaker second basemen than him in the Hall.
There are also, though, a number of better second basemen than Kent who haven’t been elected, including Chase Utley, who is currently on the writer’s ballot this year (and looking unlikely to get elected this year), Bobby Grich, Lou Whitaker, and Willie Randolph. Maybe Kent getting in will result in them getting another look.
