Jeff Kent dances around whether SF Giants great Barry Bonds deserves HOF nod

Former SF Giants second baseman Jeff Kent was just elected to the Hall of Fame. He appeared on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot alongside his former teammate in San Francisco Barry Bonds, but Kent demurred when asked if Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Kent was asked whether he thinks Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame and he gave a fairly non-committal answer: "For me, I've always said that. I've always avoided the specific answer you're looking for because I don't have one. I'm not a voter, but I can say he was a teammate that helped me. I believe I helped him. I believe he was one of the best players I ever saw."

Jeff Kent refuses to say whether Barry Bonds belongs in Hall of Fame

Obviously, Kent and Bonds had their differences as teammates. They had big personalities and did their own thing which nearly led to blows in the dugout. However, that animosity between the two certainly elevated them both and obviously Bonds' presence in the lineup helped Kent out in a huge way.

It may not be completely fair to Kent that his candidacy and election to the Hall of Fame is inevitably going to be linked to Bonds, but that is just the way things are. He is still certainly a deserving member of the Hall of Fame, but at this point it is simply laughable that Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame.

The steroid usage is always going to be part of Bonds' legacy, but even without the additional help he was without question one of the most gifted hitters of all time. He put up numbers that players will likely never come close to and was a product of his era the same way that Babe Ruth was a product of an era in which Black players were not allowed in major league baseball.

Maybe someday Bonds will be let in the Hall, but it seems likely it would only happen after he has passed away when a new generation may look upon the steroid era with more sympathetic eyes.

If it is any consolation to Giants fans, next year may very well see Buster Posey, Bruce Bochy, and Dusty Baker all be elected to the Hall of Fame so at least there will likely be a good amount of Giants representation between Kent and those three.

Kent may not be willing to say definitively whether Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame, but many Giants fans know it is a farce that Bonds is not in the Hall.