Jeff Kent
The most powerful second baseman in baseball history just earned his Hall of Fame ticket through the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. Kent's 377 career home runs at the keystone remain untouchable — the next closest, Ryne Sandberg, hit 282.
That 2000 MVP season tells the story perfectly. Kent's .334 average and 1.021 OPS that year came during the height of the steroid era, when pitching was at a premium. His 131 OPS+ proves he wasn't just riding the offensive wave — he was creating it from a traditionally weak-hitting position.
The longevity matters too. Seventeen seasons of grinding at second base while maintaining a career 112 OPS+ separated Kent from his peers. He drove in 100 runs five times, something most second basemen never do once.
Career · Batting
17 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | TOR | 102 | 305 | 11 | 50 | .239 | .741 | 106 |
| 1993 | NYM | 140 | 496 | 21 | 80 | .270 | .765 | 104 |
| 1994 | NYM | 107 | 415 | 14 | 68 | .292 | .816 | 107 |
| 1995 | NYM | 125 | 472 | 20 | 65 | .278 | .791 | 105 |
| 1996 | NYM | 128 | 437 | 12 | 55 | .284 | .762 | 99 |
| 1997 | SF | 155 | 580 | 29 | 121 | .250 | .789 | 104 |
| 1998 | SF | 137 | 526 | 31 | 128 | .297 | .914 | 121 |
| 1999 | SF | 138 | 511 | 23 | 101 | .290 | .877 | 113 |
| 2000 | SF | 159 | 587 | 33 | 125 | .334 | 1.021 | 131 |
| 2001 | SF | 159 | 607 | 22 | 106 | .298 | .877 | 116 |
| 2002 | SF | 152 | 623 | 37 | 108 | .313 | .933 | 125 |
| 2003 | HOU | 130 | 505 | 22 | 93 | .297 | .860 | 114 |
| 2004 | HOU | 145 | 540 | 27 | 107 | .289 | .880 | 115 |
| 2005 | LAD | 149 | 553 | 29 | 105 | .289 | .889 | 119 |
| 2006 | LAD | 115 | 407 | 14 | 68 | .292 | .861 | 112 |
| 2007 | LAD | 136 | 494 | 20 | 79 | .302 | .875 | 115 |
| 2008 | LAD | 121 | 440 | 12 | 59 | .280 | .745 | 99 |
| Career | 2298 | 8498 | 377 | 1518 | .290 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.