COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — A week before Jeff Kent arrived in Cooperstown, N.Y., for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he received a call with some advice from Johnny Bench. The former Big Red Machine star told Kent to act like he belonged among the rest of baseball’s immortals.
Kent appreciated the call, considering it “pretty cool.”
Nonetheless, it’s not easy for even the greatest players in history to just walk into the Otesaga Resort for their first induction weekend and settle in with Sandy Koufax, Juan Marichal, George Brett, Pedro Martínez and the other Hall of Famers.
“When I walked into the hotel the first day, you’re overwhelmed and you’re skittish and you’re hesitant and scared, maybe, to go talk to people or go up to people,” said Kent, who was born in Bellflower and raised in Huntington Beach. “But I’ve met Reggie Jackson. I saw him late at night the other night. He’s been so cool to me for a long time.”
As Kent walked around Otesaga Resort, he could feel the warmth and welcome from the most exclusive fraternity in baseball. He got more than hugs from his new peers.
“About time?” some told Kent, who was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last December by the Hall’s Era Committee.
“It should have happened a long time ago,” others told the 2000 National League MVP, who was made to wait until after his 10 years on the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America ballot.
“I’m seeing in their eyes that they’re not saying it just to be nice to me because they want something from me or they’re just trying to be nice because the cameras are on,” said Kent, 58. “It was real. That’s probably the first time I was able to relax.”
Kent will be inducted on Sunday afternoon along with his former Astros teammate Carlos Beltrán and former Atlanta Braves great Andruw Jones at Clark Sports Center.
Kent, a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, was long considered the greatest slugging second baseman in baseball history. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder finished his 17-year career with 377 home runs, which is the most by any player who primarily played second base in his career.
He retired after the 2008 season. Kent debuted on the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America Hall of Fame ballot five years later, languishing there for 10 consecutive seasons without coming close to the 75% threshold necessary to be elected.
But he cruised into the Hall of Fame last December as the only person elected on an Era Committee ballot that included all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens.
He’ll officially become a Hall of Famer Sunday, but on Friday night, he began to feel like one.
“I saw Pedro Martínez last night, introduced him to my sons,” Kent said. “He was happy, as he always is, other than when he had to pitch to me. I hated him every minute [as players]. But he was awesome, telling my kids, giving them some advice and giving little tidbits about how he used to pitch to me. … Kind of having conversations like I was on his same level.
“That’s when you start to internally feel … that, yeah, I’m OK. I think I can call myself a Hall of Famer.”
Beltrán, who played the second half of the 2004 season with Kent on the Astros, had a similar moment at the Otesaga Resort on Friday morning. Kent and his family arrived early Thursday morning. The lobby was empty later that morning.
By Friday, however, the weight of the Hall of Fame hit Beltrán in the best way possible.
“One of the first people I saw was Reggie Jackson,” Beltrán said. “The second person I saw was Johnny Bench. I saw Jim Kaat and Robin Yount. I saw a lot of players who I didn’t play with in the same era, but they came up to me.
“In one way or another, they said, ‘Carlos, I’m happy that you are here. You deserve it.’ I don’t know, but in one way or another, it’s a validation.”
Beltrán is the sixth Puerto Rico native elected into the Hall of Fame, helping his island tie Cuba as the Latin American countries with the most Hall of Famers. Jones, a five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner, is making history as the first native of Curaçao elected to the Hall of Fame.
On Sunday, they’ll finally get their Hall of Fame plaques and join the special fraternity that has already welcomed them warmly.
The post Jeff Kent starting to feel like a Hall of Famer this weekend appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
