1994 Upper Deck All-Star Jumbos #38 Jeff Kent/Dwight Gooden

Baseball Hall of Fame collectors have a new player to add to their personal collection – Jeff Kent. The 17-year MLB veteran (1992-2008) received the news of a lifetime on Sunday when notified the 16-member Contemporary Era Committee voted him in for enshrinement on July 26, 2026.

Needing 12 votes from the 16-member panel, Kent along with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela were up for evaluation. Kent received 14 votes followed by Delgado (9) and Mattingly and Murphy (6). The other candidates received less than five votes, meaning they will not be eligible to be considered again for the Hall of Fame until 2031.

The Career of Jeff Kent

Playing high school ball in California’s Orange County at Edison and in college at UC Berkeley (1987-89), Kent defied the MLB odds as a 20th round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989. Kent worked his way up as an infielder, primarily playing third base with time at second, short, and first base – a trend that would continue for much of his career.

The Mets

Kent played 65 games with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 37 with the New York Mets producing a cumulative batting average of .239 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI. The player swap between the two clubs sent five-time All-Star pitcher and five-time World Series winner David Cone to Toronto.

1992 Score Rookie/Traded #84T Jeff Kent RC

A calling card for Kent’s career started to take off in 1993 – a power hitting second baseman. The batting average for the season was raised to .270 and he slugged 21 long balls with 80 runs driven in. A dubious honor, but Kent also led the league in errors at second base with 18 in 127 games. Leading the league in errors at second is something Kent would unfortunately accomplish three more times (1994, 1998, and 2007).

In the parts of five seasons with the Mets (1992-1996), Kent would hit .279 with 67 home runs and 267 runs batted in.

Cleveland and onto San Francisco

At the trade deadline in 1996, Kent was sent to the Cleveland Indians along with José Vizcaíno for Álvaro Espinoza and Carlos Baerga. The stint in Cleveland would last 39 regular season games but gave the rising infielder his first taste of MLB postseason pitching.

During the offseason, Kent was traded again, this time to San Francisco. Joining him in the deal – Vizcaíno. Part of the swap, the Giants sent slugging third baseman Matt Williams to Cleveland.

The 1997 campaign was a career year for Kent to this point. Hitting behind Barry Bonds, Kent batted .250 and crushed 29 dingers with 121 RBI. A nine-year streak of 20 or more home runs a season started in 1997. Another nine-year streak started, 20 or more doubles a season. Through three postseason games, Kent hit .300 with two solo blasts against the Florida Marlins.

1998 was another big year for Kent, hitting .297 with 31 homers and what would be a career best 128 RBI. An oddity, in 1997 Kent received votes for MVP and again in 1998 but was not selected as an All-Star in either season. The Midsummer Classic selection finally came in 1999.

1999 Flair Showcase Row 2 #124 Jeff Kent

The MVP Season

The season that helped Kent get the votes needed to Cooperstown was in 2000. Playing in 159 games, Kent had a career year at the plate batting .334 with 33 homers, 41 doubles, 7 RBI and knocked in 125 runners. Kent earned NL MVP honors over his teammate, Bonds. Kent also received the first of four Silver Slugger Awards in 2000. Helping his MVP cause, the Giants won the NL West by 11 over the Dodgers and Kent hit .375 in the playoffs against the Mets.

MLB Record Set

Kent had two more big seasons in San Francisco before signing with the Houston Astros as a free agent for the 2003-04 seasons. Kent continued to be consistent at the plate and supply power in the lineup. Skipped on in ’03 for the All-Star Game, Kent was invited back in ’04. With the Astros, Kent collected his 288th career home run passing Cubs all-time great Ryne Sandberg with the most dingers as a second baseman. Jose Altuve is the career active leader with 255.

In his only postseason appearance with Houston, Kent helped the team through the Division Series against the Braves and in a seven-game series against the Cardinals in the NLCS, producing three dingers and 10 RBI.

Headed Back Home

When the contract with the Astros was up, Kent went back to his childhood area of Southern California to play for the Dodgers. Kent was an All-Star in ’05, for the last time, hitting .289 with 29 home runs and 105 RBI. Slowed by an oblique injury early in ’06, Kent still hit for solid average (.292) but dropped off in power numbers with 14 homers and 27 doubles.

Tied with San Diego in the NL West (88-74) at the end of the regular season, the Dodgers got into the postseason taking on the Mets. The three-game series didn’t go the Dodgers’ way, but Kent’s bat was white hot hitting .615, collecting eight hits in 13 at bats.

Kent played 136 games in ’07, hitting .302 with 20 homers. During his final MLB season, Kent hit .280 with 12 homers and 59 RBI in 121 games.

Kent’s Career Statistics

Kent hit .290 with 377 home runs and 1,518 RBI. Kent is tied for 30th on the all-time doubles list with Eddie Murray at 560, as LA’s Freddie Freeman closes in with 547.

In the Hobby

Kent has five rookie cards for collectors to chase:

1992 Donruss Rookies #61 Jeff Kent RC

1992 Fleer Update #104 Jeff Kent RC

1992 Leaf #445 Jeff Kent RC

1992 Pinnacle #522 Jeff Kent RC

1992 Score Rookie/Traded #84T Jeff Kent RC

1992 Fleer Update #104 Jeff Kent RC

The most valuable of the five is the Fleer Update #104 Kent RC. Raw mint values can reach $30 per the Beckett Online Price Guide (OPG). The other four RC have an entry point around $1 with the Score Rookie/Traded #84 going up as $3 in mint condition.

The OPG lists over 3,800 items with Jeff Kent’s name on it. The most valuable card in the database is: 2002 Topps Summer School Heart of the Order Relics #HTOKBA Jeff Kent/Barry Bonds/Rich Aurilia A. In raw excellent condition, the #HTOKBA starts around $20 with mint values at $125.

2002 Topps Summer School Heart of the Order Relics #HTOKBA Jeff Kent/Barry Bonds/Rich Aurilia A

The next two most valuable cards:

2001 SP Game Bat Milestone Piece of Action Autographs #SJK Jeff Kent SP/194

2001 Sweet Spot Game Base Trios #BHK Barry Bonds/Todd Helton/Jeff Kent

2001 SP Game Bat Milestone Piece of Action Autographs #SJK Jeff Kent SP /194

The 2001 Piece of Action Autographs #SJK and Sweet Spot Game Base Trios #BHK both can bring in as much as $100 raw.

If a Houston Astros fan, the 2003 Ultimate Collection Dual Patch Gold #BK Jeff Bagwell/Jeff Kent /35 is a great card. Excellent raw conditioned cards can be found around $12 up to $80 as a mint. On Dec. 7, a graded 9 sold for $50 on eBay.

With a short print of 99 instead of 35, valuing about $10 cheaper, the 2003 Ultimate Collection Dual Patch #BK Jeff Bagwell/Jeff Kent. Of the four-card subset, the easiest on the pocketbook is the 2003 Ultimate Collection Dual Jersey #BK Jeff Bagwell Jsy/Jeff Kent Jsy. Values range from $5 in excellent condition to $30 mint.

2003 Ultimate Collection Dual Jersey #BK Jeff Bagwell JSY/Jeff Kent JSY /50

A harder to find, but cool card for the collector, the 1999 Topps MVP Promotion #330 Jeff Kent. Another hard-to-find card to chase, 2001 Fleer Triple Crown Blue #6 Jeff Kent /33.

1999 Topps #330 Jeff Kent (base)

2001 Fleer Triple Crown #6 Jeff Kent (base)

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