Jeff Kent elected to baseball Hall of Fame by era committee

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jeff Kent, who holds the home run record by a second baseman, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Kent, 57, was named on 14 of 16 ballots by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, two more than he needed for induction.

Just as notable as Kent’s selection were the names of those who didn’t get enough support, among them Barry Bonds, the all-time home run leader, Roger Clemens, a 354-game winner, two 1980s MVPs, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy, and Gary Sheffield, who hit 509 career home runs.

Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield and Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela was named on fewer than five ballots. Under a new protocol introduced by the Hall of Fame and taken into effect with this ballot, players receiving five votes or fewer will not be eligible the next time their era is considered. They may be nominated again in a subsequent cycle, but if they do not receive five votes again, they will not be eligible for further consideration.

The candidacies of Bonds and Clemens have long been among the most hotly debated among Hall of Fame aficionados because of their association with PEDs. With Sunday’s results, they moved closer to what will seemingly be a permanent exclusion from the sport’s highest honor.

If Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield and Valenzuela are nominated when their era arrives in 2031 and fall short by five votes again, it will be their last chance to be enshrined under the current guidelines.

Kent, whose best seasons were with the San Francisco Giants as Bonds’ teammate, maintained his long-standing neutral stance on Bonds’ candidacy, refusing to offer his opinion on whether he thought Bonds should be elected.

“Barry was a good teammate of mine,” Kent said. “He was a guy that I motivated and pushed. We butted heads a little bit. He was a guy that motivated me at times, in frustration, in love, sometimes both.

“Barry was one of the best players I’ve ever seen play, it’s unbelievable. For me, I’ve always said that. I’ve always avoided the specific answer that you’re looking for, because I don’t have one. I don’t have one. I’m not a voter.”

Kent played 17 seasons in the majors for six franchises and became emotional at times recalling the various stages of a now-Hall of Fame career that ended in 2008. He remained on the BBWAA ballot for all 10 years of his post-retirement eligibility, but peaked at 46.5 percent in 2023, his final year.

“Time had passed, and you leave it alone, and I left it alone,” Kent said. “I loved the game and everything I gave, I left on the field. Today, these last days, I was completely unprepared. Emotionally unstable.”

A five-time All-Star, Kent was named National League MVP in 2000 as a member of the Giants, with whom he established a career-high .334 average while posting 33 home runs and 125 RBIs. Kent hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman, a record for that position.

Kent is the 62nd player elected to the Hall to play for the Giants. He also played for Toronto, the New York Mets, Cleveland, Houston and the Dodgers. Now he will symbolically play for the most exclusive team in baseball – the ones whose plaques hang in Cooperstown, New York.

“I haven’t walked the halls of the Hall of Fame,” Kent said. “And it’s going to be overwhelming once I get there.”

Carlos Delgado was nominated on nine ballots, the second highest total among the eight examined. Mattingly and Murphy received six votes each. All three are eligible to be nominated again in the next Contemporary Era assessment in 2028.

Next up on the Hall schedule is the BBWAA vote in this year’s Hall of Fame primary ballot. These results will be announced on January 20.

Anyone selected through this process will join Kent for induction on July 26, 2026, on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown.