Gallagher: Ex-Blue Jay Kent undervalued by HOF voters

Former Toronto Blue Jay Jeff Kent is on the Baseball Writers’ Association of American Hall of Fame ballot for the final time.

January 4, 2023

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Some voters like him, they are impressed, they love what he did, they appreciate him.

Someday, Jeff Kent hopefully will make it to Cooperstown and even though it likely won't be through the regular system, he should enter it through one of those veterans' committees.

Voting by BBWAA members concluded Dec. 31 and Kent, a one-time Blue Jay, had received under 50% of votes in this his 10th and final season on the ballot -- in the early weeks of tracking by Ryan Thibodaux.

Kent's offensive statistics outdo those of Scott Rolen, another former Jay, who just may squeeze into Cooperstown when the BBWAA results are released Jan. 24.

Kent hit .290 lifetime with 560 doubles, 377 homers, collected an impressive 1,518 RBIs, scored 1,320 runs and had 2,461 hits. Rolen was much lower in every category. He hit .281 with 517 doubles, 316 homers, 1,287 RBIs, 1,211 runs and 2,077 hits.

I bet Kent is saying, "This doesn't sound right.''

The notable difference between Kent and Rolen is the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and fielding data. Rolen is better in both categories. Rolen posted seven Gold Glove awards, while Kent had none. Rolen was a seven-time all-star while Kent wasn't shabby with five all-star selections.

Kent also wasn't the darling of the media. He didn't much like the media and the media didn't much like him.

Whatever, Kent had an outstanding career.

Kent was signed and scouted for the Blue Jays by Canadian Wayne Morgan, a Saskatoon native, whose third favourite player he sized up after Terry Puhl and Willie McGee was Kent.

"Kent was an odd situation,'' Morgan told me years ago. "I saw him play a game at shortstop at the University of California-Berkley when he was a freshman and I was very impressed. He ran below average and had below average range so, to me, he profiled as third-base prospect.

"I asked other scouts at the game where he was drafted out of Edison high school and was told that he was not drafted. Years later, I was told that he quit the high school team his senior year because the coach wanted him to be a pitcher.

"I never saw him again and prior to the draft in 1989, I asked our area scout about him because Kent was not on his draft list.''

The scout told Morgan he thought Kent wasn't a prospect. The scout also told Morgan he didn't Kent would be drafted. On a gut feeling, Morgan recommended to his scouting superiors that Kent be drafted. He was taken in the 20th round and 523rd overall.

Kent played Low-A ball in St. Catharines, Ont., High-A in Dunedin, Fla., double-A in Knoxville, Tenn. and because he was so good, the Jays skipped him past triple-A and he made his big-league debut April 12, 1992.

Kent was barely a Jay. In 65 games, he hit. 280 with eight homers and 35 RBIs when he was dealt to the Mets in the Aug. 27, 1992 trade that brought David Cone to Toronto.

The trade allowed Cone to help the Blue Jays to a World Series championship in 1992 and Kent went on to produce a Hall of Fame career elsewhere.