Ex-Blue Jay, who helped Toronto win its first World Series, is headed to Cooperstown

He is not the first second baseman that Toronto Blue Jays fans think of when they think of the World Series years. That distinction goes to Roberto Alomar, a Hall of Fame player who spent five years in Toronto, with two of those culminating in World Series championships in 1992 and '93.

However, Jeff Kent, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era committee on Sunday night, was, in a roundabout way, responsible for bringing Toronto their first World Series title.

Ex-Blue Jay, who helped Toronto win its first World Series, is headed to Cooperstown

Kent never played in the World Series for the Blue Jays as he was a member of the New York Mets by the time the Fall Classic arrived. Kent was a 20th round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 1989 and by the early 90's he was considered a top prospect. But in 1991, the Blue Jays had already dealt for their second baseman of the present, and the future, in Alomar.

So with Kent getting a taste of the big leagues in '92 and producing a 1.3 bWAR in 65 games, he was seen as a valuable trade chip to shore up another area of the roster. Kent slashed .240/.324/.443 with eight home runs and Blue Jays manager Pat Gillick was getting calls about the 24-year-old right-handed hitter. In August, he pulled the trigger on one of those calls and sent Kent along with a player to be named later (Ryan Thompson) to the Mets for 29-year-old lefty hurler David Cone.

Cone was a workhorse and significantly bolstered the Blue Jays rotation. In the four seasons prior to the trade, Cone had averaged 223 innings pitched and 219 strikeouts with a 3.06 ERA. It proved to be a costly, but necessary move as Cone started two of the games the Blue Jays won against the Atlanta Braves, en route to that World Series title. But in doing so they gave up a guy who put up Hall of Fame credentials throughout the rest of his career.

Kent was one of the best offensive second baseman of his generation and rightly deserves this Hall of Fame honor. He gets in with 87.5% of the vote from the Era's committee.

In 17 seasons Kent played with six different teams and was named the National League MVP in 2000 while playing with the San Francisco Giants, the team he's most well known for playing for. The five time All-Star hit 377 home runs, 540 doubles, drove in 1,518 RBIs and had an .855 OPS. He accumulated a 55.4 bWAR and among all primary second basemen he ranks first in home runs, third in RBIs, and fifth in doubles.

Kent will be inducted at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on July 26 alongside those who are elected by the Baseball Writer's Association of America whose final ballots will be revealed on Jan. 20, 2026.