Kent to Cooperstown? Think Twice

First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way. Is Jeff Kent a Hall-of-Famer? Yes, he is. He played second base for most his career hitting 377 homeruns, while batting .290. He was a 5-time All-Star, won the 2000 NL-MVP Award, and 4 Silver-Slugger Awards at second base.

All great numbers, but are they HOF numbers? Not really. I’m tired of the proclamation that so-and-so is a great hitter for this position. ‘He’s a great hitter for a catcher.’ ‘He’s a great hitter for a 2nd baseman’. I understand that offense isn’t usually a premium at positions like 2nd base and catcher, and if a great hitter comes along at one of those positions with good defense, the hall-of-fame must be brought into consideration. I completely understand and agree.

Jeff Kent was never meant to be a second baseman. He didn’t look like a second baseman, and his work in the field was at best satisfactory. At 6’2”, weighing 200 pounds, he was projected as a 3rd baseman. He played third base in college, and in the minors. He started his career in Toronto playing the majority of his games at third base, but later switched and played second base for the rest of his career.

Many people tend to compare him to Ryne Sandberg, since they played the same position, had the same build, and similar offensive numbers. They say since Sandberg is in the Hall-of-Fame, Kent should be a shoo-in due to his superior numbers.

You know what the difference is between Sandberg and Kent?-Just the fact that Sandberg has 9 gold-gloves and is in-fact one of the greatest defensive second basemen ever.

Ask yourself this. If Kent had continued to play third base for the rest of his career instead of switching over to second, would he be in a discussion for the Hall-of-Fame?

A number of 3rd basemen that played both sides of the field, such as Ken Boyer, Ron Santo, and Matt Williams aren’t in the Hall-of-Fame despite having comparable offensive numbers to Jeff Kent.

If you think of Kent as a third baseman, how do you put Kent in and leave out Santo, but the fact remains, Jeff Kent worked himself into an able second baseman, and played 2.034 games at second base out of 2298 career games. He is the career leader for homeruns, extra-base hits and RBIs for second basemen.

So yeah, send Kent to the Hall-of-Fame. The man worked hard his whole life and deserves it. Who am I to try to change the system?-Not that I’m trying. Just thinking out loud- what if Kent did play all those games at third base, hit .290, smacked 377 homeruns, and drove home 1518 runs in 17 Major League seasons. Would we be talking about Cooperstown?