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Former Toronto Blue Jay infielder Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by a modern-era committee, and steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were among seven players who failed again.
Kent appeared on 14 of 16 ballots, two more than the 12 ballots required for the 75 percent minimum.
Carlos Delgado received nine votes, followed by Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy with six votes each.
Bonds, Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received fewer than five votes.
Kent will be inducted at a hall in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26, along with anyone selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, whose vote will be announced on January 20.
A five-time All-Star second baseman, he batted.
His 351 home runs as a second baseman are the most for a player at that position.
Kent received 15.2 percent in his first BBWAA appearance in 2014 and a high of 46.5 percent in the last of the 10 times he was on the ballot in 2023.
In 2022, Hall restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, creating groups to consider the modern era since 1980, as well as the classical era. In the modern era of baseball, there are separate votes for players as well as managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee meets once every three years. Modern managers, executives and referees will be considered in December 2026, classic era candidates in December 2027 and modern era players again in December 2028.
Under a change announced by the House last March, candidates who receive fewer than five votes are ineligible to vote on that committee for the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is eliminated, later reappears on the ballot, and again receives fewer than five votes will be disqualified from appearing on future ballots.
Bonds and Clemens lost in 2022 in their 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot, with Bonds receiving 260 of 394 votes (66. Sheffield received 63.9 percent in its last BBWAA ballot in 2024, gaining 246 votes and trailing by 43 votes).
Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs, and Clemens says he never used PEDs. Sheffield said he was unaware that the substances he used during training before the 2002 season contained steroids.
A seven-time NL MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds set the career home run record with 762 and the season high with 73 in 2001.
A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).
The December 2027 vote is the first chance for Pete Rose to appear on the Hall ballot since Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred decided in May that Rose's permanent suspension ended with his death in September 2024. The Hall prohibits anyone from the permanent list of ineligible voters from voting.
