E-Paper
Why Jeff Kent was chosen over Don Mattingly, Barry Bonds for MLB Hall of Fame. Voting explained
Jeff Kent was voted as the next inductee for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday
Jeff Kent was voted as the next inductee for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. The Contemporary Era Committee elected him as the lone candidate. The former second baseman appeared on 14 of the 16 ballots, comfortably surpassing the 75% requirement.
Other major names on the ballot were far from close. Carlos Delgado drew nine votes, while Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy each collected six. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela came in at under five votes apiece, falling well short and triggering rules that will keep them off the next ballot for this committee’s cycle.
Kent’s selection caps an already decorated résumé. Over 17 MLB seasons, he hit .290 with 377 home runs and 1,518 RBIs, spending time with the Blue Jays, Mets, Guardians, Giants, Astros and Dodgers. His 351 home runs as a second baseman remain the most in MLB history.
Despite his production, Kent never gained enough traction during his 10 years of BBWAA eligibility, topping out at 46.5% before ageing off the writers’ ballot in 2023.
The Hall revamped its committee system in 2022, splitting eras and establishing three-year review cycles. The Contemporary Era is divided into two ballots, one for players and one for managers, executives and umpires. Candidates who receive fewer than five votes are barred from appearing on the next ballot for that specific committee, and if they repeat that outcome in the future, they are permanently removed from consideration by that group.
For stars like Bonds and Clemens, who fell short in their final BBWAA vote and again in Sunday’s committee round, the road remains steep despite their historic statistical achievements. Their ties to performance-enhancing drugs continue to cloud their candidacies, even as their dominance remains undeniable.
The next opportunity for Contemporary Era players to be evaluated will come in December 2028, while the Classic Era panel reconvenes in December 2027, the same ballot where Pete Rose becomes eligible for consideration following MLB’s clarification that his lifetime ban ended upon his death in 2024.
