Kenny Lofton – CF – 1991-2007 – 3.2% in 2013
Kenny Lofton was a winning player. In the last 13 seasons of his 17-year career, his team made the playoffs 11 times, including two World Series. He got a late start, with his first full season coming at age 25 in 1992, but he was an instant star. Lofton led the American League in stolen bases in his first five seasons with the Indians, averaging 65 steals per year at an 82% success rate. He led the league in hits in the strike-shortened 1994 season and was an on-base machine, hitting for a career .299/.372/.423 line.
Lofton was an excellent defensive center fielder for the first half of his career, though the effects of age significantly lessened his ability over time. Though he spent only 10 seasons in Cleveland, the franchise to whom he is most closely linked, Lofton ranks seventh in Indians franchise history in bWAR with 48.5, ahead of Jim Thome. He is in the top 10 all-time for career games played in center, and his 68.2 career bWAR places him eighth all-time, above 13 Hall of Famers at the position.
Lofton made six consecutive all-star games and won four consecutive gold gloves. His peak MVP finish was fourth in 1994, when he led the league with 7.2 bWAR. As great as Lofton was, he was also a part of some big trades, having been swapped six times in his career. The biggest trade came just before the 1997 season, when he was sent with Alan Embree from the Indians to the Braves for Marquis Grissom and David Justice. Lofton would return to the Indians the following season. He also joined Aramis Ramirez in moving from the Pirates to the Cubs in 2003.
The 2013 Hall of Fame voting was a down year, with no players surpassing 75 percent for the first time in 17 years. Lofton was overlooked in the ballot logjam, named on just 18 of 569 ballots.