Former Dodgers, Giants slugger and noted curmudgeon Jeff Kent voted into the Hall of Fame

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame is peppered with players who finished long, distinguished careers by donning a Dodgers uniform, their performance dwindling as their age increased.Greg Maddux, Rickey Henderson, Juan Marichal and Eddie Murray are among those who leap to mind.An exception was Jeff Kent, who Sunday received 14 of 16 possible votes by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, the only player among eight on the ballot with enough for induction into Cooperstown.

With unmatched power as a second baseman and an unrelenting approach to his craft, Kent was a Dodger for the last four seasons of his 17-year career, solidifying his Hall of Fame credentials statistically while also serving as a curmudgeonly leader on a roster crowded with young stars such as Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Andre Ethier and James Loney.“It’s a moment of satisfaction of the things I did right in my career, the things I consistently stuck to,” he told MLB Network.“The hard work, the gratification of playing the game the right way.

I love the game.” The son of a motorcycle police officer and a product of Huntington Beach Edison High, Kent became emotional during a news conference at the 2005 MLB Winter Meetings when it was announced that he’d signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the Dodgers.“This is the third time I’ve tried to get with the Dodgers,” he said at the time.

“I want to be on a team with the potential to win because I’m running out of time.This team has that mentality.” Dodgers Former Dodgers left-hander Fernando Valenzuela did not get the sufficient number of votes needed from the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, which revealed its votes on Sunday night.The Dodgers never won a World Series during Kent’s tenure, but he quickly fell into the role of a veteran leader, making himself available to the media after tough losses to shield younger players ...