Jeff Kent elected to baseball Hall of Fame, which again keeps doors shut for Bonds and Clemens

MSN ^ | 12/07/2025 | Jeff Chiu

[Az Joe]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Elected to baseball's Hall of Fame more than 17 years after his final game, Jeff Kent couldn't control his emotions. “Absolutely unprepared. Emotionally unstable,” he said after Sunday's vote announcement. “Thoughts are so far clouded." Kent received 14 of 16 votes from the contemporary era committee, two more than the 12 ballots needed for the 75% minimum. Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were among seven players who fell short once again. Kent will be inducted in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26 along with anyone chosen by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 20.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: bonds; clemens; halloffame; kent

[montag813]

If Jeff Kent, then why not Keith Hernandez or Don Mattingly?

[Jonty30]

I can understand why Rose is banned, but I don’t understand why Bonds is banned. Everybody was using steroids when he was using them. He just got caught.

[ConservaTexan]

Kent was really good, but not HOF in my opinion. Years ago it became the Hall of Really Good.

[Az Joe]

IDK, I really liked Donnie Baseball when he was playing, career cut short at 34. I think Kent has his play at 2nd base in addition to his bat.

[Az Joe]

He used them A LOT! Plus, he was basically an asshole.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

If Jeff Kent, then why not Keith Hernandez or Don Mattingly?

I looked up the career stats. Jeff Kent's numbers are better than I remember, more accomplished than Mattingly and Hernandez. I threw in Dale Murphy too, another famous Hall of Fame snub.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, Rodriguez, Sosa

[whitney69]

“He just got caught.”

Nope. Barry Bonds was never officially suspended by Major League Baseball for a positive steroid test, but he was found guilty of obstruction of justice in a federal case related to the BALCO steroid scandal, though the conviction was later overturned. So they literally have nothing other than the news writer’s opinion on any of it. And they went after Bonds big time and were made fools trying to get him. It’s not his use that kept him out. It’s the writer’s vanity.

wy69

[dznutz]

Everybody was using steroids when he was using them.

Frank Thomas wasn’t using steroids.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

So they literally have nothing other than the news writer’s opinion on any of it.

We have nothing on Barry Bonds other than: (1) records seized from BALCO indicated that Bonds tested positive on three occasions in 2000 and 2001 for the steroids methenelone and nandrolone; (2) a 2003 urine sample provided by Bonds as part of Major League Baseball's anonymous survey testing, and later seized by federal investigators, was re-tested and found to contain traces of the designer steroid THG ("the clear"), the female fertility drug Clomid, and foreign testosterone; (3) a secretly recorded conversation with Greg Anderson in the Giants' clubhouse in 2003 where they discussed Bonds' steroid injections; (4) in his mid-30s, Bonds' hat size grew by one size and he gained 40 additional pounds of muscle mass; and (5) Barry Bonds transforms from 34-year-old aging and declining baseball player to 35-year-old super Babe Ruth.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml

[KC_Conspirator]

Juiced era

[dznutz]

Bonds trainer from BALCO refused to testify in front of a Grand Jury and was thrown in jail for a year. Bonds claimed he didn’t know that the clear and cream administered to him were steroids and a masking agent.

Good thing those sportswriters voting on candidates for the H.O.F. see through Bonds B.S.

[Getready]

I don’t follow baseball much, but I know who the better players are, for some reason, Jeff Kent doesn’t stick in my head .....maybe cause he was bounced around the league...while compiling good stats...why would any team shop him around if he was HOF material?
Why isn’t Bobby Murcer in the HOF? SPIT!

[bort]

I can understand why Rose is banned, but I don’t understand why Bonds is banned. Everybody was using steroids when he was using them. He just got caught.
————-
Pete Rose’s bets on baseball did not impact the outcome of a single game. He should’ve been in the Hall of Fame years ago. By contrast, what Barry Bonds did impacted every single game he played in. Roger Clemens is a little more nuanced. He pitched for about 15 years where he clearly did not use steroids. When he did use steroids, the purpose of his use of the steroids was to heal up injuries.

[Jonty30]

If you’re an athlete, you shouldn’t be betting on your team in any way or shape or form. Not even the impression that you made a bet about your team.

If a player bets on his team, win or lose, his quality of play may be trying to get the desired outcome. If a manager bets on his team, win or lose, his managerial decisions may have an outcome on the game.

I’m of the opinion, unfortunately, that Pete Rose is probably getting his just deserts for what he did.

I also think it’s unfortunate that he made the decision to gamble on his team.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

And the use of steroids can be blamed entirely on the attitude of MLB, as a whole.

Homeruns put butts in the seats.
Look the other way on steroids and juice the ball.

[Jolla]

High Pockets Kelly, the worst player in the HOF.

[chrisinoc]

Kent was not popular with many of his teammates, if I recall correctly. He was more into motorcycles and ATVs.

[whitney69]

Your post reinforces my entry. Bonds was not determined guilty of anything by major league baseball. And what I’m pointing out is that selection to the HOF is not based upon facts but upon the opinions of the sports writers. There are two groups that determine entry:

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) for recently retired players

And various rotating Era Committees (Veterans Committees) for players, managers, executives, and umpires who didn’t make it through the writers’ ballot, using different historical periods.

There are three groups of voters in the Era Committees to include:

Current Hall of Famers

Current or former MLB executives

Media/Historians: Veteran baseball writers and historians

So you can see the Era Committees are still made up of media and baseball execs that have to protect their historical stance on all the choices they have identified in the past.

So people who they never found guilty to have used illegal enhancing substances or gambling are being exempted more for their needs than facts.

wy69