New Arrival, possible HOF Edition: Jeff Kent, if, San Francisco Giants

This is another signed Allen and Ginter that I got as part of a lot from a collector. I think I have a couple Kent’s, but this was was really nice so I didn’t want to pass up on it.

• Jeff Kent was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 20th round of the 1989 draft from University of California, Berkeley.
• Kent made it to the majors in 1992 with the Blue Jays, but was traded that August to the Mets in the David Cone trade.
• Kent was very good with the Mets, showing good pop for a middle infielder. From 1993 to 1996 he hit .280/.329/.454, averaging 17 HR.
• This is when it gets depressing. The Mets traded Kent to the Indians in 1996 for Carlos Baerga. It was an amazing trade for the Indians. They dumped a player in Baerga who was clearly on the downside of his career for a great young talent who had a premium bat for a second baseman.
• The Indians made the trade in the middle of a contention window, which made it all that much better. To move a player like Baerga and get an upgrade like Kent…it was a great move by the CLE front office.
• So, of course, the Indians screw it up. Kent got 102 at bats with the Tribe in 1996 and was traded in the offseason in a package Matt Williams.
• Don’t get me wrong, Matt Williams is a great player and was an important part of the 1997 team. But he never quite fit with the organization and ended up being a one-season rental. Of course…he was traded the next season for Travis Fryman, who was great…but…thats not what we are talking about. Jeff Kent! He was a talented, cheap, young prospect…gone.
• Fast forward 12 seasons. Jeff Kent, who spent a total of 17 seasons in the big leagues, retires. His final numbers?
  • .290/.356/.500
  • 2,461 hits
  • 377 HR
  • 123 OPS+
  • 55.2 WAR, 147th best all-time
  • 5 x All-Star selections
  • 4 x Silver Slugger selections
  • 2000 NL MVP
• Goddamn it.
• I am not sure that he is a Hall of Fame player. He is certainly on the bubble. He passed two of the three Hall of Fame test scores (HOF Monitor and Standards…didn’t pass the Grey Ink), so that is good. I also think that the time that he played–when PEDS were rampant–need to be taken into consideration. He is not a suspected user, which should help his chances a little more.
• Working against him? He was not the greatest defensive second baseman in history. He rubbed some people in the press the wrong way.
• He also does not have any of the big “counting stats” like 3,000 hits or 500 HR. But…he does have the NL MVP…so that helps compensate.
• In the end I am thinking that he will have to get in via the Veterans Committee, but I do worry that the timing will be bad for Kent.
• I suspect the committee will be wrestling for years about what to do about players who clearly have the stats to get in, but the cloud of PEDS hanging over them make getting the votes needed troublesome. Guys like Palmeiro, Clemens, A-Rod and Bonds are all very unusual cases that, at some point, will be needed sorting out. I could see Kent getting lost in  the crowd.