Jeff Kent will be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., a second baseman with power who I would put in the "pretty good'' category. Not great.
My question is: How did Kent get voted into the Hall of Fame and former Arizona Wildcat Kenny Lofton did not? Look at their statistical comparisons. Lofton wins.
– Batting average: Lofton .299, Kent .290
– Runs: Lofton 1,528, Kent 1,320
– Stolen bases: Lofton 622, Kent 94
– Home runs: Kent 377, Lofton 130
– Hits: Lofton 2,428, Kent 2,461
– All-Star Games: Lofton 6, Kent 5
– Golden Glove awards: Lofton 4, Kent 0
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Former Arizona basketball player Kenny Lofton, a longtime Major League Baseball player after his days as a Wildcat, speaks with media before having his name raised in the UA men's basketball Ring of Honor at McKale Center Saturday.
Lofton, now 59, can be inducted only if the Contemporary Baseball Era committee puts him on its ball and he receives 12 of 16 votes. That's how Kent got in this season.
Both men played 17 years in the big leagues, and Lofton wins the statistical comparison easily. C'mon, guys. Do your homework. Elect the 1989 Arizona basketball point guard, whose presence on the bases as one of the game's all-time leading stolen base figures, gives him a wide edge over Kent, a power-only second baseman.
