Jeff Kent and the Hall of Fame

Me and the future Hall of Famer

Baseball Reference has a running topic on their blog discussing the Hall of Fame worthiness of players who are about to be eligible for the ballot.

Today it is Jeff Kent's turn.

I am solidly in the camp that he should be in the Hall and not just because I got my picture taken with him. His 6 seasons with the Giants were pure magic. I can still remember the short powerful swing that launched balls into the wide open gaps of AT&T park.

With him and Barry Bonds there was never a shortage of offensive power and unlike now a 2 or 3 run deficit felt like nothing and that it was just a matter of time before the Giants prevailed.

His numbers back up these warm and fuzzy feelings. He is among the best hitting 2nd Basemen of all time. Kent is in the top 10 for OPS+ for 2nd baseman, 14th among 2nd basemen in WAR, for batting runs he's 6th all-time among 2nd basemen.

Here are his number from his Giants peak:

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	Awards
1997	155	651	580	90	145	38	2	29	121	48	133	.250	.316	.472	.789	105	MVP-8
1998	137	594	526	94	156	37	3	31	128	48	110	.297	.359	.555	.914	142	MVP-9
1999	138	585	511	86	148	40	2	23	101	61	112	.290	.366	.511	.877	124	AS,MVP-26
2000	159	695	587	114	196	41	7	33	125	90	107	.334	.424	.596	1.021	162	AS,MVP-1,SS
2001	159	696	607	84	181	49	6	22	106	65	96	.298	.369	.507	.877	131	AS,SS
2002	152	682	623	102	195	42	2	37	108	52	101	.313	.368	.565	.933	147	MVP-6,SS
SFG (6 yrs)	900	3903	3434	570	1021	247	22	175	689	364	659	.297	.368	.535	.903	136

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/10/2010.

He wasn't just a one trick pony either, he was a solid defender finishing his career right around average and during his Giants years finishing with a tally of 17 runs above replacement.

During his Giants years he accumulated 32.9 wins above replacement, second only to Barry Bonds over the same period.

He didn't always have the best relations with the media and left the team on not the best of terms but time has healed those wounds for me. I remember the good things that he did for the Giants and the playoff teams he helped lead.

He was a big part of the teams success, he played the game hard and deserves to be in the hall of fame. I encourage you all to go vote at Baseball Reference for Jeff Kent.

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