Kent a HOFer?

quick link on Baseball Musings to this Press-Enterprise article about Jeff Kent jaking it against the A’s then calling Andre Ethier onto the carpet for taking the pitch.

First things first… did anyone actually see the Kent/Ethier incident happen? From the author’s account of what happened, it almost seems too Jeff Kentish for even Jeff Kent to pull off.

Anyway, back to my point. In the article, Kevin Pearson refers to “second baseman Jeff Kent, a likely Hall of Famer”.

When I read that, I did a double-take. Kent a Hall of Famer? I guess I don’t necessarily disagree with that suggestion. It is just not something I considered before.

I took the time to check out his career stats. One thing you can say about Kent is that he is incredibly consistent. By that, I mean his total stats are impressive without having the BIG years.

This is especially true beginning with 1997, when he began playing with SanFran. Each year between 1997-2005, he has had 20+ homers, 100+ rbis (except in his slightly down year in 03), and 80+ runs (except again in 03).

His lifetime totals at the beginning of the season of 331 homers (82nd all time) and 1312 rbis (83rd) and runs 1139 (21st active) are nothing to sneeze at especially for a secondbaseman.

And they’re going to get better. Barring injuries, Kent could play 3 or 4 years. Maybe more.

But in the context of the modern era, are those stats (plus his postseason play) good enough to put him in the Hall?