Until recently, second basemen were not expected to be a power source in an MLB lineup. On this day in 2005, Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Jeff Kent became the first player to hit 300 home runs at second.
One of the more overshadowed players in his time, Jeff Kent was a star for the San Francisco Giants before moving to the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers. A late bloomer, he found his groove in San Fran, becoming a five time All Star and winning the 2000 MVP award. With Barry Bonds as his cohort in the lineup, Kent became an impressive power hitter at second base, and a force to be reckoned with in his own right.
Kent was not a typical second baseman by any stretch of the imagination. While he was just about league average with the glove, costing his teams exactly one run in his 17 year career, Kent was really in the lineup for his ability to hit. He continued to show that he was more of a hitter than the usual second baseman when, on this day in 2005, he became the first player to hit 300 homers at second base.
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Facing reliever Mike Burns in the sixth inning, Kent roped Astros reliever Mike Burns’ 2-0 offering for that historic home run. Overall, he would finish his career with 351 homers as a second baseman, having shattered the previous record of 277 set by Ryne Sandberg. Kent also ended up with over 100 more homers than the American League record held by Joe Gordon.
With his impressive offensive numbers, Kent would have appeared to be a lock for the Hall of Fame. Instead, his chances of induction do not look good, as he has failed to gain more than 16.6% of the vote in his three years on the ballot. Playing at a premium defensive position, Kent’s offensive production has failed to impress the voters. Of course, they could also be influenced by his somewhat standoffish nature and the bizarre incident involving his broken wrist, but the writers would never let personal feelings influence their votes, right?
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Jeff Kent was the premium slugger at second base, and may well be for quite some time to come. As it stands, with his home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers on this day in 2005, he is the only player to hit 300 homers at second.