San Francisco Giants: Barry Bonds and My IBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Jeff Kent
55.2 Career WAR, .290/.356/.500/.855, 2461 hits, 377 HR’s, 1518 RBI’s

Sometimes, it’s important to compare a player to others at his position. Much in the same way that Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history, Kent is the best power hitting second baseman. It’s hard to have a Hall of Fame when you don’t include the most productive and best players for each position. Kent’s power numbers may seem small compared to some other middle of the order hitters, with only 377 home runs. However, no second baseman ever hit more. He wasn’t a strong defender, but he also wasn’t a bad defender either. Kent and Rich Aurilia were a very successful double play tandem for several years with the San Francisco Giants and he always seemed to make the play. He may never have made the spectacular play, but his talent at the plate and production on the field more than made up for not being Ozzie Smith on the diamond.