The Hall of Fame added a new member today when it announced that Jeff Kent was the only candidate who received the necessary votes from a 16-person committee.
The Contemporary Era ballot, which considers players who made their mark primarily after the 1970s, met at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings this weekend. The voters did not deem any of the eight candidates worthy. The voters spoke and gave Kent 14 votes for election.
The candidates needed 12 votes. The candidates were:
- Jeff Kent … 14
- Carlos Delgado … 9
- Don Mattingly … 6
- Dale Murphy … 6
- Barry Bonds … fewer than 5
- Roger Clemens … fewer than 5
- Gary Sheffield … fewer than 5
- Fernando Valenzuela … fewer than 5
Complete vote totals are not released by the Hall of Fame for these special “era” committee elections. The last Contemporary Era voting cycle elected Fred McGriff. Prior to that, Ted Simmons was elected by a similar voting body.
Kent will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown next summer, along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Results of the BBWAA vote will be revealed in late January.
Kent was the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player. That season he hit .334 with 33 home runs and 125 RBI. Kent finished in the top ten in MVP voting four times in a 17-yera career spent with six teams, four in the National League. He posted a career .290 batting average, with 2,461 hits and 377 home runs. He was a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner as a second baseman.
Murphy, Mattingly, or any of the candidates who were on this ballot and not elected can be reconsidered by the same committee in three years. But first they must be selected for the ballot via a nominating committee.
