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Former Blue Jay Jeff Kent elected into Baseball Hall of Fame
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Photo credit: © Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Dec 7, 2025, 20:15 ESTUpdated: Dec 7, 2025, 20:10 EST
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A former Toronto Blue Jay will enter the Hall of Fame.
No, it wasn’t Carlos Delgado, who received only nine of the needed 12 votes. Instead, it was Jeff Kent who will enter Cooperstown later this summer.
Kent began his career with the Blue Jays, as he was drafted in the 20th round of the 1989 draft out of the University of California, Berkeley. The second baseman made his big league debut with the Jays in 1992, slashing .240/.342/.443 with eight home runs in 222 plate appearances. At the end of August, he was traded to the New York Mets for David Cone, but still earned a World Series ring.
The Bellflower native played parts of five seasons with the Mets, with slightly below-average results. In 1996, he was traded to Cleveland, finishing the 1996 season with them. The off-season saw Kent be traded again, this time to the San Francisco Giants.
He had his best year yet in 1997, hitting 29 home runs for a 104 wRC+ and 4.1 fWAR, but it wasn’t until 1998 that he truly broke out, slashing .297/.359/.555 with 31 home runs. Kent followed that up with a 23-home run season in 1999. His 2000 season saw him slash .334/.424/.596 with 33 home runs, winning the National League’s MVP.
The 2002 season saw Kent hit a career-high 37 home runs, helping the Giants to the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Angels. Kent signed with the Houston Astros the following off-season, playing two seasons there and earning his fourth All-Star Game nomination.
He finished his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing for them in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, and representing the team at the 2005 All-Star Game. In the end, Kent finished his career slashing .290/.356/.500 with 377 home runs in 9,537 plate appearances for a 123 wRC+ and 56 fWAR. Kent’s 377 home runs lead all second basemen, while going to five All-Star Games and winning four Silver Slugger awards.
It’s a little bit surprising that Delgado didn’t get nominated this year, receiving nine of the needed 12 votes. In his career, he slashed .280/.383/.546 with 473 home runs in 8,657 plate appearances for a 135 wRC+ and 44.1 fWAR. Don Mattingly is another player to have roots with the Blue Jays, coaching with the team the last three seasons, but playing his entire career with the New York Yankees. Mattingly received six of the required 12 votes.
Other Blue Jays who are available for the Hall of Fame are Mark Buehrle and Edwin Encarnación, the latter being on the ballot for the first time and needing 5% of the votes to remain on the ballot. Those results will come on Jan. 20.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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