Kent Can't Be A HOFer, Can He?

Ever since I read that the Dodgers signed Jeff Kent, I began to ponder the eternal question: for all that money, his success on several different teams and the bonehead trade the Mets once made, Does Jeff Kent belong in the Hall of Fame?

According to Hall of Fame Standards, based upon batting alone, Kent earns 39.1 points whilst the average HOFer earns 50.

Frankly, this doesn't tell me much. What does tell me something is looking at what second basemen are in the HOF already.

Well, Kent is certainly not in the company of players like Rogers Hornsby, Jackie Robinson, Joe Morgan, or Nap Lajoie.

On the other hand, if you look at someone like Bid McPhee, you have to wonder:

McPhee, .281 liftetime hitter. Kent, .289 lifetime hitter.
McPhee, .380 slugging average. Kent, .505 slugging average.
McPhee, 2342 hits. Kent, 1910 hits to date.
McPhee, .944 fielding average Kent, .981 fielding average

If McPhee is going back too far for you, you might compare Kent to another dubious HOF 2nd baseman, Nellie Fox. Fox had a .984 fielding average, hit .288, and had 2663 hits.

If Kent has an average season for the duration of his two year deal with the Dodgers, he'll finish with 2203 hits, 349 homers and 1393 RBIs.

As I am a firm believer that any new HOFer should be measurably better than the average HOF at that position, I'd say unless he has a few monster seasons in the Dodger's cavernous pitching park, he does not belong in the HOF.

However, if you enter him in as The Barry Bonds Chancre, he might have a chance.