I don't think that Kent will be considered a slam-dunk Hall of Famer outside California, but I think he should be in. His heyday was in a French vanilla uniform, so I expect he'll sport a Giants cap.

For what it's worth, I still really like the guy, and consider him a great Giant. It'll be good to see him back for reunions and stuff.

Jeff Kent was a great Giant and we have still have not come close to replacing his bat. That being said, there is no player I boo louder at Willie Mays Field.

He's a lock, and he'll be wearing the orange and black.

I fail to see how anyone can even consider Jeff Kent for the Hall of Fame without an automatic induction for Barry Bonds. I know, Kent's numbers have held up pretty well without Bonds, but it was play next to Bonds in the batting order that allowed him to compile numbers to even start the conversation. Oh, Bonds cheated and Kent didn't? Really, sure about that? On what basis? I know this wasn't the question, so to answer, it probably should be as a Giant, but wouldn't be surprised if he picked the Astros.

I don't believe players get to pick any more.. The Hall decides which hat they wear on the plaque.

How can Kent not be a slam-dunk pick for the HOF? I don't have time to check the numbers, but it's safe to say he's one of the top 10 second basemen (on offense) in major league history. Morgan, Sandberg, Wagner, Alomar, Gehringer....

By this measurement, he's in the top 100 hitters of all time.

I got to go the Giants Dodgers game on the 4th of July and these guys in my sections were selling F*ck Jeff Kent shirts. If the ballpark security didn't make them take them off I probably would have bought one. I think Jeff Kent is worthless and I even went so far as to name my fantasy team after him..."Jeff Kunt." Jeff Kent probably does deserve to be in the hall of fame, and don't get me wrong I was right along with everyone else cheering him on when Barry Bonds protected him and forced pitchers to pitch to him, but I still hope he doesn't go in the hall as a Giant. How big of a hypocrite will all of us look like cheering him on at AT&T when he gets inducted when all of us booed the hell out of him for four years in LA?

Kent is a lock for the Hall of Fame, no doubt. He should go in as a Giant as he achieved his greatest success (MVP, beating out Bonds) here.

Kent is far from a lock.

For one, his numbers are inflated by the era he played in, which one well-known analyst (the guy who taught the A's all their stuff, Eric Walker) has dubbed Silly-Ball and which still exists today (I checked with him via e-mail and while he hasn't updated his Boskage website for recent years, he told me that the effect is still in effect, steroids testing or no steroids testing). He seems to believe that the MLB changed the ball to win back fans with more homers.

Kent's also had relatively short career success (10 years approximately) and while he is in the Top 100 in a number of categories, I offer this example of a player who had relatively short career success (about 10 years) and was in the Top 100 in most major offensive categories himself when he retired: Bobby Bonds.

The main plus for Kent over Bonds in this comparison is that he played a premium defensive position; however, nobody has ever considered Kent to be a premium fielder.

In addition, the voters have been relatively tough in inducting 2B into the Hall, probably because of the lower offensive hurdle there to start.

I also think that his "car washing" lie will also hurt him with some voters, as that will be all they remember about him.

If he should make it in, I'll bet that he will make a push for another team's logo but the Hall would do the right thing and put SF on his cap. That was when he was MVP after all.

I would enjoy that because while I hate his guts now, due to all the insults he has hurled on SF Bay Area fans since leaving, I feel that having SF burned on his forehead forever would bother him, and for that I would smile.

About Gillaspie, I'll save my bitching and moaning should the Giants drop anyone off the roster who I wanted them to keep. As ELM showed, there should be a lot of spots available, plus, who would the Giants feel the need to add right now anyway?

Maybe Jesse English, EME, Adam Witter, Joe Martinez, Justin Hedrick, Nick Pereira.

Timpner is probably droppable too, if not already.

I don't have any stats, but I would guess turnover of around 5 per off-season.

If Bobby Grich can't get in, it's possible that Kent won't, although Kent put up gaudier RBI numbers and voters tend to weight that heavier.