Former Astros Chances at Entering Hall of Fame

Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent most likely won’t be getting into the hall of fame sitting at 32 percent with only two years to go. Which is kind of crazy considering he is the all-time home run leader at his position of second base.

He has 377 home runs which is a pretty good number for any player at any position. Oftentimes voters take into account the position the player played and their numbers compared to others at the same position both across generations and within their era.

And within Jeff Kent’s era there was a nine year stretch where he was the best second baseman in baseball. From 1997-2005, he averaged 28 homers and 110 RBI from a position that up until that point was more known as a spot you get contact and speed from rather than power. During that stretch, he had five All-Star selections and an MVP award.

His time spent with the Astros was in 2003 and 2004, forcing Craig Biggio to move positions once again so he could play second base while Biggio adjusted to the outfield.

Kent is responsible for creating one of our favorite Astro post season moments (back when they were few and far between) in the 2004 NLCS hitting a game winning walk off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth in game five to bring the Astros within one game of their first World Series appearance.

All Astro fans will remember him running towards home plate with his finger up saying “One more, one more” as in how many wins they needed to win the NL pennant. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, but on the flip side it is nice Cardinals fans didn’t feel the need to fabricate a story about Jeff Kent wearing a buzzer to compensate for their loss. You take the good with the bad.