Blue Jays have plenty of ties to the Hall of Fame ballot

You gotta give a little, to get get a little

Jeff Kent

The man that never played a full season for the Blue Jays, but still made an impact as a minor leaguer. Kent was traded to the New York Mets in 1992 for a pitcher by the name of David Cone, who helped put the staff over the top on the way to the first championship north of the border. He represents one of those stories where paying a high prospect price was arguably worth it, and considering they employed Roberto Alomar at second base at the time, the trade certainly made sense.

Kent went on to star with the Mets and eventually the San Francisco Giants, slashing .290/.356/.500 with 373 home runs and earned 55.2 WAR throughout his career. He also had a short cameo with the Cleveland Indians in1996, before he finished out his career playing one season in Houston with the Astros and then four more with the Dodgers, still providing power into his late thirties.

Teaming up with Barry Bonds in San Francisco, they didn’t always get along, but the power numbers were pretty staggering from the one-two punch.

Kent feels like a long shot to get included in the Hall of Fame, but he does have a decent case, especially when you compare his numbers to other second baseman. However, last year was Kent’s fourth year on the ballot and he received just 16.7 percent of the vote, or 74 votes. He’s got a long way to go before he’s a realistic candidate, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of.