Of Course Kent Belongs in the Hall

Bitter Bill Price doesn't think Jeff Kent belongs in the Hall.  Why?

But I say Kent cannot be looked at as a second baseman, especially in this day and age where middle infielders all over baseball are putting up numbers usually posted by outfielders and third baseman. We have to start judging players - other than catchers - as all part of the same pool. Is Nomar Garciaparra a Hall of Famer because he put up big numbers at shortstop? And while Kent’s numbers may have gotten him into the Hall of Fame 10 years ago, they are comparable to several other players who will be retiring soon or have already retired and likely won't ever get in. Albert Belle has more homers (381) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer? Gary Sheffield has more homers (499), hits (2,615) and RBIs (1,633) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer? Andres Gallarraga (399), Dale Murphy (398), Joe Carter (396), Jason Giambi (396), Vlad Guerrero (392), Craig Nettles (390), Dwight Evans (385), Harold Baines (384), Larry Walker (383) and Matt Williams (378) all have more homers than Kent. Only Guerrero has a legit shot to make it to Cooperstown.

Are middle infielders putting up numbers comparable to outfielders?  Let's look at the best offensive outfielders from the last three years and what they average as a group based on OPS and home runs:

		OPS	HR
1	Manny Ramirez	.991	92
2	Matt Holliday	.979	95
3	Vladimir Guerrero	.925	87
4	Magglio Ordonez	.910	73
5	Carlos Beltran	.909	101
6	Brad Hawpe	.901	76
7	Carlos Lee	.901	97
8	Jermaine Dy	.900	106
9	Adam Dunn	.897	120
10	Alfonso Soriano	.897	108
	Averages	.921	95.5

Ok, now let's do the same for middle infielders:

		OPS	HR
1	Chase Utley	.930	87
2	Hanley Ramirez	.907	79
3	Carlos Guillen	.889	40
4	Derek Jeter	.838	37
5	Ian Kinsler	.832	52
6	Dan Uggla	.831	90
7	Jeff Kent	.829	46
8	Dustin Pedroia	.828	27
9	Jimmy Rollins	.827	66
10	Mark DeRosa	.824	31
	Averages	.854	55.5

In essence, we're talking a difference of 67 points in OPS and 40 home runs.  One could reasonable argue that the difference in OPS

is

that 40 home runs, giving the edge in power to the outfielders.  OBP shouldn't be considered a skill only an outfielder type can possess.  It's also worth noting that each team obviously has at least one more outfielder than middle infielder so the pool to pick from for outfielders is a bit larger. For comparison's sake, let's do the same look at the outfielders and middle infielders from, say, 1960 - 1962: The Outfielders:

		OPS	HR
1	Mickey Mantle	1.058	124
2	Frank Robinson	1.031	76
3	Willie May	.971	118
4	Hank Aaro	.960	119
5	Roger Maris	.927	133
6	Rocky Colavito	.889	117
7	Stan Musial	.879	51
8	George Altman	.879	62
9	Al Kaline	.878	63
10	Roberto Clemente	.858	49
	Averages	.933	91.2

The middle infielders:

		OPS	HR
1	Ernie Banks	.880	70
2	Woodie Held	.801	63
3	Jerry Lumpe	.734	21
4	Eddie Bressoud	.719	26
5	Tony Kubek	.717	26
6	Dick Groat	.711	10
7	Bill Mazeroski	.708	38
8	Ron Hansen	.700	37
9	Frank Bolling	.699	33
10	Maury Wills	.695	7
	Averages	.736	33.1

Much bigger gap here, 197 points in OPS and 58 home runs. Does that mean that teams have been stashing great offensive players at middle infield positions to enhance their offense?  In 1960, American League teams averaged 676.75 runs scored.  In 2006, American League teams averaged 804.43 runs scored.  For a real quick and dirty defensive measure, we'll compare unearned runs.  In 1960, American League teams averaged 80.88 unearned runs, while 2006 American League teams averaged 59.78 unearned runs. It's not an incredibly in-depth look, but on the surface, it would seem that defense has actually improved from a time when middle infielders were less offensive and presumably more defensive. In that sense, it isn't reasonable to penalize Kent for being one of many bats buried at a middle infield position.  I don't think that argument is reasonable under any circumstances.  Regardless of that, it still doesn't make sense to keep Kent out of Cooperstown. Looking at Kent's career rankings at second base, he places 1st in home runs, 3rd in career OPS, first in RBI, and 7th in Runs Created Above Average.  That's among all second basemen from the beginning of time. Taken since 1960, Kent places 1st in home runs, 1st in career OPS (above Joe Morgan, Craig Biggio and Ryne Sandberg), first in RBI, and 3rd in Runs Created Above Average.  The guy is, at worst, the 3rd best second baseman of the last 48 years.  How does he not get elected? Kent certainly wasn't the greatest defensive second baseman ever but that certainly was balanced a bit with the bat.  Maybe Price feels that second basemen should only be elected based on defense.  Would it then be reasonable to argue that teams are hiding poor defensive players at corner positions and therefore those players should be penalized? It's an absurd argument.  Kent's stats speak for themselves.