Former Toronto Blue Jays infielder elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame

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Former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Jeff Kent was elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame by Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Sunday.

Former Blue Jays Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as revealed by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee tonight.

Welcome Jeff Kent to the Hall of Fame Class of 2026! He has been elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

Kent had a very good 17 season career that started with the Blue Jays. He was traded in the middle of his rookie season to the Mets for David Cone.

In total he played 2298 games, hit 377 home runs, had 1518 RBI with a .290/.356/.500 slash line.

Not bad for a middle infielder. He won the NL MVP in 2000, played on 5 All-Star teams and won 4 Silver Slugger awards.

He had more than 100 RBI 8 times (helped along by opponents intentionally walking Barry Bonds)

Kent received 14 of a possible 16 votes from the Era Committee, making him the only candidate of the eight considered to cross the 75% (12 of 16) threshold needed for induction to Cooperstown.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela each received less than five votes.

Formerly known as the Veterans Committee, the Era Committee is the latest incarnation of the process that for decades has given some fresh evaluation and a second chance to players initially overlooked on the writers’ ballot.

This year’s version of the Era Committee focused on players whose greatest contributions came during the «Contemporary Baseball» (1980-present) era.

Next year’s ballot will focus on managers, executives, and umpires from the Contemporary Baseball era, and the 2027 ballot will consider candidates from the «Classic Baseball» era (prior to 1980) before Contemporary Players are again considered in 2028.

Under a change announced by the Hall last March, candidates who received fewer than five votes are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle.

A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.

Previously on Blue Jays Central

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Former Toronto Blue Jays infielder elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame

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