Kenny Lofton, OF, 1991-2007
Career Stats: .299/.372/.423, 1,528 runs, 2,428 hits, 116 triples, 622 SB
One of the most fun conversations I had with someone regarding Lofton was when discussing his Hall of Fame credentials and discussing the list of teams acknowledged on his plaque. He would certainly be a Clevaland Indian going into the Hall, but he has 11 teams that he played with over his 17 year career.
When Lofton appeared on the ballot in 2013, he remarkably immediately received so few votes that he fell off the ballot, garnering only 3.2% of the vote when 5% is required to stay on the ballot going forward. This is crazy to me, specifically as he’s most closely compared via similarity scores to Tim Raines, who has received a massive swell of support in recent seasons.
For a decade from 1992-2001, Lofton was the quintessential leadoff man and center fielder for the Indians (and one season for the Atlanta Braves). He averaged a 5.3 bWAR season each year during that time with his excellent offensive play on top of his great defensive play. In that decade, Lofton averaged a .303/.379/.428 line with 104 runs, 7 triples, 9 HR, and 48 SB on the offensive end.
From 2001 forward, Lofton seemed to be a renegade player, playing for 9 teams over 6 seasons, often traded at midseason to a contender to help that team to the playoffs. He still played well in that time, but as it was his age 35-40 seasons, he obviously had slowed down. He hit .293/.360/.418 with 8 triples, 6 home runs, and 24 stolen bases, so he did slow down, but was still very productive, hitting nearly .300 in his final season and stealing 23 bases, in spite of being 40!
Due to that role of being a “bought” player at the deadline, he ended up playing in the postseason in 11 of his 17 seasons, even hitting .375/.444/.438 for the Indians against the Yankees in 2007 at age 40.
Lofton’s also very close based on the analytical numbers, certainly too close to be voted out on the first ballot. His black ink is 15 vs. 27. His gray ink is 62 vs. 144. His Hall of Fame Monitor score is 91 vs. 100. His Hall of Fame Standards score is 42 vs. 50. His JAWS score is 55.7, with a HOF CF scoring 57.8 on average.