Jeff Kent, who spent the six peak years of his career with the Giants, was just elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Eras Committee, whatever that is. In the end, it doesn't matter what it is, he's in the Hall of Fame! Kent was one of 7 candidates up for consideration and received 14 of 16 votes. He was the only one of the 7 who got the required number of votes. The other players considered were Carlos Delgado, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. Bonds and Clemons would obviously both been in a long time ago were it not for the PED issue. The others seem worthy to but I have long believed Jeff Kent had a HOF worthy career so am very happy to see him finally get in.
Kent came to the Giants in a trade engineered by Brian Sabean when he became the Giants GM for Matt Williams with the Giants also getting Julian Tavarez and Jose Vizcaino. The trade was heavily criticized by the Giants fanbase prompting Sabean to feel the need to defend himself with the infamous "I am not an idiot!" statement. Little did the fanbase know that over the next 6 seasons, Kent would hit 175 home runs, put up 30.9 fWAR and win a NL MVP Award. Kent eventually left under a bit of a cloud of his own making when he claimed a broken hand was from an accident suffered while washing his truck. The Giants reportedly found out he actually injured it while popping wheelies on his motorcycle an activity expressly prohibited in his contract. Kent did not win over any of these disappointed fans when he signed with the Dodgers two years later and infamously proclaimed he always dreamed of playing for the Dodgers.
Despite all that he did spend the peak years of his career with the Giants and it was a helluva peak. I would think he should proudly go into the Hall of Fame as a Giant and I would hope he will get his number retired along with other Hall of Famers who spent most of their careers and/or their peak seasons with the Giants.
Very happy for Kent and also thought he has long been deserving to be a member of the HOF. Him going to the Dodgers was a bitter pill to swallow but I never lost my appreciation for what he brought to the franchise. The Dusty Baker managed Giants with Bonds and Kent in the middle of the order was the team I watched as a kid and made me love the game. We were very lucky to have two studs of that caliber go back to back in the lineup!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching Jeff Kent play baseball. Mike Krukow described him as a "red ass." He meant that as a positive comment describing Jeff Kent as a fiery competitor. He gave colorful interviews and was always gratifying to watch him play. Kent and Barry Bonds got into a handful of skirmishes over the year, but having them both in the lineup was key for those years. Yes, he was a rule breaker at times, but with a look at his numbers, he definitely belongs in the HOF.
ReplyDeleteI was part of the Lunatic Fringe after the Williams trade but Kent eventually won me over. It was a shame about the motorcycle incident. He should have manned up, taken the $ hit, and mended relations.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a fair reason to have such clauses in big-money contracts. I’m not sure Bum was ever the same after his dirt-bike accident.
Anyway glad Kent is in!
Even though Bonds' numbers look better, Kent's clutch hitting was what led the Giants. I still wonder what could've happened if two big egos could've been managed a little better and Kent could've spent his final six years in San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteBonds' numbers look better because they were better and he was the better player. That does not take away from Kent's contributions. Kent was a great player. Bonds might be the best who ever played the game. He was definitely the best hitter in the history of the game with or without PED's. BTW, there is overwhelming evidence that most players from that era were using some sort of PED and we don't know that Kent wasn't.
DeleteBonds make Kent better, especially after they switched them in the batting order
Deletealso a member of the extremely unhappy fans when Matt Williams was traded. that day i was meeting some buddies and i announced due to the trade i had become a free agent fan and was going to hold a press conference to see which MLB would have me as a fan. i finished the bit by saying, i dunno, ok, i'm a Florida Marlins fan! do you know the odds of FL winning the WS that year?! i had randomly picked the winner and nothing to show for it, hahaha. -es
ReplyDeleteLol!
DeleteI enjoyed that story, thanks.
The only appropriate honor the Giants should bestow upon Kent is a DIY car wash in the Mission Rock development.
ReplyDeleteUnhappy at 1st with Matt Williams trade but Kent and Bonds formed quite a hitting tandem for the Giants. They were fun to watch.The stats show Kent hit at least 20 hrs and 100 rbis every year for the Giants.. Not easy to do. The other players in the trade were good too, Jose Vizcaino was a good MLB middle infielder, pitcher Julian Tavarez had a great arm,, if I remember he could start and relief pitch for the team. It was nice to see Kent in tears when he was interviewed. I'm happy for him!
ReplyDeleteWhy is David Ortiz in the hall of fame when he failed a steroid test? And yet still denied using steroids? The Hall of Fame voters are extremely hypocritical and the Hall of Fame is a joke. They just act like they are Gods who can pass judgment on people they don’t like. They are just media members, nothing special. They vote for players they like and don’t vote for players they don’t like. There are so many players in the hall of fame who have used steroids but just weren’t caught so it’s stupid that they try to finger point who did and who didn’t do steroids. We don’t know that Jeff Bagwell didnt do steroids, he’s a guy who came from the steroid era and had high power numbers. The whole process is just a joke. How about all the guys that are in the hall of fame who did methamphetamines? The hall of fame is just a BS house of cards that crumbles easily. They try to act like they are taking the moral high ground but they just act like they are the gatekeepers for a little boys club.
ReplyDeleteThe human race has always operated on a scapegoat system. I see the non-votes for Bonds as being more anti-Bonds than anti-PEDS.
DeleteCarlos Delgado definitely should be in the hall of fame while we are at it.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a pro football player being denied Hall of Fame honors for using steroids, let alone even held out of a game for PEDs.
ReplyDeleteWhen a player plays for multiple teams during his career, the Hall of Fame decides which cap is depicted on the plaque. Kent had his best seasons with the Giants so he is probably going in as a Giant.
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