Jeff Kent was among the several former Los Angeles Dodgers on the 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, which he fell short in and no longer is eligible for Cooperstown through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).
In his 10th and final year of eligibility appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot, Kent received just 46.5% of the votes. Candidates must receive at least 75% in order to gain enshrinement.
Kent’s next opportunity for induction will come in December 2025 via the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee ballot.
After falling short of induction from writers, Kent expressed his frustration with the voting results over recent years, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The voting over the years has been too much of a head-scratching embarrassment,” Kent said via text. “Baseball is losing a couple generations of great players that were the best in their era because a couple non-voting stat folks keep comparing those players to players already voted in from generations past and are influencing the votes. It’s unfair to the best players in their own era and those already voted in, in my opinion.
“Steroids clouded the whole system, too, and with the reduction of eligibility years, to clear the ballot deck, I got caught up in it all, I guess.”
Despite his frustration, Kent congratulated Scott Rolen on being part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class and said his focus is on the future:
“No worries on my end as I haven’t followed it much any more and moved on,” Kent said. “Congrats to Scott Rolen.”
Kent played for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Dodgers over his 17-year career.
Kent’s 377 career home runs are most by a second basemen in MLB history, he earned five All-Star Game selections, four Silver Slugger Awards, eight Gold Gloves and won the 2000 National League MVP, among other accolades.
While appearing in 521 games over four seasons with the Dodgers to finish his career, Kent hit .291/.367/.479 with 122 doubles, 75 home runs and 311 RBI. Kent was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005, his first season with the team.
Why hasn’t Jeff Kent been voted into Hall of Fame?
There are multiple theories as to why Kent hasn’t been voted into the Hall of Fame, with some believing it’s due to his personality in the clubhouse, and others arguing Barry Bonds’ presence in the Giants lineup helped inflate statistics.
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