Former San Francisco Giant Jeff Kent beat out former teammate and outfielder Barry Bonds to be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame (AP file photo)

Jeff Kent to the Hall of Fame before Barry Bonds

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Who in their right mind, who followed baseball when Kent and Bonds were playing together on the Giants teams from 1997 to 2002, would have predicted that Jeff Kent would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, before Barry Bonds?

We can all come to our own conclusion. Bonds, who hit an incredible 762 home runs, the #1 all-time, and has all the accolades possible for a baseball player’s career, has not been inducted into the most famous Hall of Fame in sports in the United States.

At the ceremony in Cooperstown this July 26, there will be a record 61 Hall of Fame players in attendance to see Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltrán, and Andruw Jones inducted (Class of 2026). Jeff Kent will be inducted with a San Francisco Giants jersey.

I was broadcasting the Giants games during the years Kent and Bonds were playing with the Giants. Kent played for the Giants from 1997-2002; he also played for the Blue Jays, Mets, Astros, and Dodgers, while Bonds, who played for the Pirates for the first seven years, became a Giant in 1993 and played with the team until 2007.

The majority of the headlines during their careers were about Barry Bonds, and obviously his accomplishments are in a class by themselves. Jeff Kent also had a great career, and he will be remembered as a Hall of Fame player from 2026 until the rest of his life.

Jeff Kent’s career spanned 17 years, and he played for seven different teams. He ended with a .290 batting average, 377 home runs, and 1,519 runs batted in. Won the National League MVP in 2000 with the Giants and was selected to five (5) All-Star Games. Main position: Second base (the all-time leader in home runs for the position).

Maybe it was a clash of egos, but Kent and Bonds did not like each other, even though the Giants were a winning team and, on the field together, both were a dynamic offensive duo; a great majority of the runs scored by the Giants were because of Bonds and Kent; they were the big producers of the Giants’ offensive attack.

But it is a simple fact: their relationship even led to a physical dugout altercation, howevr both were great players deserving of the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds spent 10years on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, peaking at 66% of the vote in 2022 (falling short of the required 75%). Continues to be considered by the Hall’s Era Committees, such as the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

This Sunday, July 26, will be a day of celebration for the three new members of the Hall of Fame, Beltrán, Jones, and Kent. May they enjoy it with their families in good health.

For information on the Hall of Fame tour    https://baseballhall.org/Visit/Special-Experiences/Museum-Tour

Quote: You should always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise, they won’t come to yours.  -Yogi Berra.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.