Upcoming Hall of Fame Induction and Eras Committee Deliberations
In about six weeks, the baseball community will find out from the Baseball Writers Association of America whether a new Hall of Famer will be honored. However, that’s not the sole avenue for induction into Cooperstown.
On the first night of Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, the Eras Committee also got together. This 16-member group convened to evaluate eight players who have been retired since 1980 and made it to the Modern Era Committee ballot. Each of these players had been removed from the BBWAA ballot at different times, either due to receiving less than 5 percent of the votes or exhausting their eligibility. The Eras Committee offers another chance for these players, and last year it successfully facilitated the posthumous induction of Dave Parker and Dick Allen.
Members of the committee could vote for a maximum of three candidates. If any player secured at least 12 of the 16 votes—achieving a similar 75% target as in BBWAA voting—they would earn a spot in Cooperstown. In this recent vote, just one player was chosen for induction.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the player with the highest home run count or the most MVP awards in MLB.
Nor was it the individual boasting the most Cy Young Awards.
It doesn’t even include the two celebrated sluggers and former MVPs from the ’80s.
If you’re thinking, “Well, that’s unexpected,” here’s what happened: Kent received 14 votes and achieved induction with two votes to spare.
Now, in some ways, Kent doesn’t exactly scream Hall of Fame—yet he was an excellent player. After brief stints early in his career in Toronto, New York, and Cleveland, he found stability on the West Coast, amassing 560 doubles and 377 home runs—the most for any second baseman in MLB history. He was a vital player for the early 2000s San Francisco Giants, contributing to multiple playoff appearances and their 2002 National League pennant victory. Over his career, he earned five All-Star selections, won the 2000 National League MVP, and received four Silver Slugger Awards, moving from San Francisco to Houston and nearly leading the Astros to the National League pennant in 2004.
However, there’s something somewhat unexciting about Kent’s trajectory and his other options. And that’s setting aside his reputation for having a challenging personality, even among his teammates.
So, who holds the record for most home runs and MVP awards? That’d be his old teammate, Barry Bonds. And who claimed the highest number of Cy Young Awards? Roger Clemens? Both received fewer than four votes recently. This mirrors what happened under revised Hall of Fame criteria a few years back, where notable figures like Bonds, Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela faced similar outcomes.
Valenzuela had a tricky case, mainly due to inconsistencies in his pitching performance over time. Supporters pointed out his role in attracting Mexican fans to the sport, which was a valid argument, but it didn’t carry enough weight with the committee.
Bonds, Clemens, and Sheffield all have connections to performance-enhancing drugs, which complicates their candidacy. Even if they played most of their careers during a time when those substances weren’t strictly penalized—thanks in part to former commissioner Bud Selig—the consensus remains unsupportive. Though some believe other PED users are already in the Hall of Fame, the committee has clarified its stance against admitting these players. Despite objections, the BBWAA has previously reduced Bonds’ and Clemens’ candidacy periods, and chances of support from committee members seem slim.
It’s honestly a bit embarrassing that these athletes, not to mention others like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, are excluded, especially when Selig himself is an instant Hall of Famer.
Jeff Kent’s induction somewhat overshadows the careers of earlier stars like Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly. Both of them had meaningful careers but came up short in the BBWAA voting. In the last Eras Committee vote, while Fred McGriff was elected, Mattingly received eight votes and Murphy only six. In this recent vote, the results were less favorable for them. Could Kent’s career have been superior? He played more games and amassed more WAR, but that’s just one metric. Nevertheless, Kent doesn’t carry the same historical significance for baseball as Murphy or Mattingly do for fans who grew up in the ’80s. C’est la vie.
Interestingly, the only unmentioned candidate—Carlos Delgado—garnered a single vote in a crowded BBWAA poll previously. In front of this more exclusive panel, however, he captured nine votes, just three shy of induction. The former Blue Jays slugger deserved more consideration in the BBWAA voting, and perhaps would have fared better if he’d been eligible later. Even if I’m not entirely convinced of Delgado’s Hall of Fame worthiness, he deserves a serious discussion, especially since his numbers compare favorably to McGriff’s.
In conclusion, congratulations to Jeff Kent. He has now achieved a Hall of Fame status that feels like a mediocre sandwich, jazzed up with a touch of hot sauce.
