Sports
Jeff Kent's Hall of Fame Election Could Open the Door for Overlooked Second Basemen
Jeff Kent’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame is going to provide a boost to players representing one of Cooperstown’s most underrepresented positions.
It just may be a while before a second baseman can point to Kent as the player who helped him get over the top.
Kent will become the 23rd second baseman ushered into baseball immortality next Sunday, when he joins centerfielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones on the Clark Sports Center stage a little more than a mile from the Hall of Fame.
Kent was elected last December, when he received 14 of the 16 votes from the contemporary baseball era committee. A month later, fellow keystone star Chase Utley positioned himself for induction far sooner than later by finishing with 59.1 percent of the vote, the third-largest share behind Beltran and Jones. A candidate must finish with 75 percent of the vote on his ballot in order to be inducted.
But Utley has already established himself as a potential Hall of Famer by accumulating 28.8 percent and 39.8 percent of the vote in his first two years on the ballot. Who’s next after Utley knocks down the door?
“Over the years, you look at guys who are great players and why they haven’t gotten in it’s probably because their offense doesn’t stack up as a whole to the greats that are in there,” Kent said during a Zoom call with reporters Friday afternoon. “Some of my numbers don’t even stack up to the greats that are in there.”
While Kent’s 351 homers as a second baseman are the most all-time, he ranks 11th among Hall of Famers at the position with 2,461 hits, 12th with a .290 average and 19th with a Baseball-Reference WAR of 55.4.
By these measures, the players who would benefit most from Kent’s induction are fellow Era members candidates Bobby Grich, Willie Randolph and Lou Whitaker, all of whom were either retired or winding down by the time Kent made his big league debut in 1992.
Kent has more hits and a higher average than Grich, Randolph and Whitaker, though the latter trio all finished with a WAR between 65.9 and 75.1.
But Era ballots are notoriously stuffed, especially for players such as Grich, Randolph and Whitaker who could land within either the Modern Baseball Era (for players who constructed all or most of their career prior to 1980) or the Contemporary Era (for players since 1980). Some of their competition for ballot spots include Dwight Evans, Keith Hernandez, Graig Nettles, Luis Tiant, Tommy John, David Cone…and maybe Pete Rose, which is a thorny mess for another time.
Grich, Randolph and Whitaker also all went one-and-done on the writer’s ballot back in the days before WAR was an accepted Hall of Fame metric. Kent had far more success remaining in the conversation on the writer’s ballot, where he peaked at 46.5 percent of the vote in his final year of eligibility in 2023.
And he made it to the contemporary era ballot in the same year as the PED-stained Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Gary Sheffield, all of whom have about as much chance of being elected as anyone reading these words.
Speaking of PED stains, Robinson Cano, who was on pace to finish with 3,000 hits and a .300 average before he got busted twice for PEDs, will go one-and-done in 2028, by which time Utley will likely be in the Hall of Fame as the first example of a second baseman elected for his peak and not his counting numbers. Utley has a 64.6 WAR but just 1,885 hits, which would be the eighth-fewest hits for any player in Cooperstown.
Amongst active second basemen, Jose Altuve has the numbers (a .303 average with 2,455 hits and 53.4 WAR) for election, though he has to hurdle any fallout from his role on the sign-stealing 2017 Houston Astros. But the election of Beltran, the only Astros player punished for his role in the scheme, is a good sign for Altuve, who is signed through 2029 and unlikely to appear on a ballot before the mid-2030s.
There may be a sizable gap before and after Altuve. New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien has 48.8 WAR to go along with 1,675 hits, 262 homers and two Gold Gloves, but appears to be in steep decline at 35. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte has 37.2 WAR at age 32 and is signed through 2030, though his peak has not yet generated much Cooperstown debate.
Dustin Pedroia, who played for the Boston Red Sox from 2006 through 2019, accumulated 51.8 WAR and batted .299 with 1,805 hits. He joined the ballot in 2025 and received 20.7 percent of the vote last year — an indication his candidacy will get a much closer look than those of Grich, Randolph and Whitaker, but also a reminder of how far Kent’s predecessors and successors at the keystone have to go between here and Cooperstown.
Sports
Brewers' Brandon Sproat, former Mets prospect, takes aim at New York
Jul 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Sproat against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The surging Milwaukee Brewers will look to remain perfect in the second half on Tuesday when they send right-hander Brandon Sproat against the visiting New York Mets.
Sproat (3-4, 5.16 ERA), who was acquired from the Mets in the offseason trade involving fellow pitcher Freddy Peralta, will be opposed by rookie left-hander Zac Thornton (0-1, 2.60).
The Brewers rocked Peralta for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings Monday in an 8-3 win in the series opener. Andrew Vaughn belted a two-run homer and rookie Cooper Pratt launched a solo shot for his first career homer off Peralta, who pitched the previous eight seasons in Milwaukee.
Joey Ortiz added a three-run homer off Xzavion Curry.
Hard-throwing ace Brewers Jacob Misiorowski, who skipped his last start before the All-Star break due to arm fatigue, allowed one unearned run in four innings in a planned shortened start.
National League Central-leading Milwaukee, which resides seven games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs, has won four in a row since the break to improve to a season-high 26 games above .500. The Brewers are a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors.
Pratt, who moved into the starting shortstop role after being called up from Triple-A Nashville in mid-June, is batting .357 (15-for-42) over his last 13 games with two doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBIs.
“Cooper’s very capable,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Pratt had three hits in Monday’s win. “He’s got a lot to learn, the game. Nights like tonight, very encouraging.”
Ortiz, who struggled early, is batting .326 (15-for-46) with three doubles, three homers and seven RBIs over his last 14 games.
Garrett Mitchell also remained red-hot with an RBI single and a double. He is hitting .397 (25-for-63) with eight doubles, two homers, a triple and 10 RBIs in 17 games in July.
Sproat, who will be facing his former team for the first time, is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing 13 runs in 33 innings. Sproat lasted just three innings in his last start, yielding three runs (two earned) but did not get a decision in a 7-6 loss at Pittsburgh.
Thornton, who has split time between Triple-A and New York, will be making his fourth start for the Mets this season. He has allowed five runs in 17 1/3 innings, but just one homer.
In his last start on July 12, he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings but did not get the decision in his team’s 10-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox.
“We’ve been needing that from someone,” interim manager Andy Green said about Thornton. “You can see he’s unafraid, and you can see he’s on the attack. So as painful as this moment is, those are good signs for our future to see a young guy step on the mound and pitch like that.”
Bo Bichette was 2-for-3 in the series opener. He is hitting .325 with five homers, nine doubles, a triple and 23 RBIs over his last 39 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
With losing streak broken, Rays look to start stacking wins
Jul 20, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. (25) is greeted by third baseman Junior Caminero (13) after hitting a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images After snapping a five-game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Rays will now try to start building a winning streak Tuesday night against the host Toronto Blue Jays.
The Rays took the opener of a four-game series 7-1 Monday to drop the Blue Jays to eight games below .500.
The Rays have dominated the Blue Jays this season, leading the season series 6-1. They are first in the American League East, 11 1/2 games ahead of the last-place Rays.
The Blue Jays have started an important seven-game homestand 1-3. The Rays are 1-4 on their eight-game road trip.
The presence of Dylan Cease on the mound gave the Blue Jays hope of starting the series out with a win. But besides not being able to hit, the Blue Jays had trouble catching the ball and were charged with three errors on Monday.
As a result, two of the five runs allowed by Cease were unearned.
“It’s on us,” Cease said. “It’s not the coaches. It’s not anybody else. We’re just not playing up to our potential right now. So it’s frustrating, but we have each other’s backs. We’re going to keep fighting.”
The Blue Jays have scored two runs over their past three games. And the Rays are not a good opponent for a team that is pressing and battling frustration.
“The way that the Rays play puts pressure on you,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “They do all the little things pretty well, whether it’s getting a bunt down, stealing a base. We talked about it before the series, we know they’re going on contact, and it forces you to be perfect.”
The Blue Jays are slated to pin their hopes Tuesday on right-hander Kevin Gausman (4-8, 4.33 ERA). In 28 career games (26 starts) against the Rays, Gausman is 8-10 with a 4.26 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 148 innings. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in in two starts against the Rays this season.
Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 3.26) is the probable starter for the Rays. In 13 career games (11 starts) against Toronto, he is 3-4 with 3.00 ERA. He is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays this season.
The Rays got a solid six innings from starter Nick Martinez in the opener. Unlike Cease, he had some run support. Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins and Nick Fortes hit solo homers for the Rays. Junior Caminero was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
“Top to bottom, we had a bunch of contributions, and needed guys to feel good about themselves,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Mesa has homered in three consecutive games.
“I feel like we needed this one,” Mesa said. “I felt like we need that confidence back. We never stop believing. We know the team that we are, and the work will never stop. Let’s keep working and let’s do our job. Let’s keep being the team that we are. We’re back. We’re back on track. We turned around, and this is the way.”
The Blue Jays are going in the opposite direction. They thought they had turned it around on June 22 when they reached .500, but they are 7-15 since.
“Losing is definitely disappointing,” Cease said. “I think it’s just frustrating when it doesn’t feel like we’re giving teams our best bullets. We have to let go of the past and show up tomorrow ready to play.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
White Sox pounding out runs since All-Star break as Rangers struggle
Jul 20, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas (20) hits an RBI double against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images The Chicago White Sox keep earning victories behind a strong offense.
They hope to keep the trend going against the host Texas Rangers in Arlington on Tuesday night, especially given new injury concerns.
American League Central-leading Chicago routed Texas 10-3 in Monday’s series opener despite losing catcher Kyle Teel (left ankle) and shortstop Colson Montgomery (right shin) to injury.
Teel, who was using crutches after the game, was set to undergo further evaluation Tuesday, while Montgomery is considered day-to-day.
With the lineup in flux, six different players drove in runs as Chicago collected eight extra-base hits and stopped a 10-game losing streak in Arlington. Andrew Benintendi had a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning for the key blow while Miguel Vargas had three hits and two RBIs.
Vargas’ ninth-inning double scored Chase Meidroth to set a career best with his 61st RBI of the season. The White Sox moved to seven games over .500 (53-46) for the first time since 2021.
Chicago’s relentless offense has led the team to three wins in four games since the All-Star break, outscoring opponents 25-8.
Texas pulled to 5-3 Monday on Jake Burger’s solo home run in the seventh before allowing five runs in the ninth. The Rangers, who trail the Seattle Mariners by a half-game for the AL West lead, have lost three of four games since the All Star-break, getting outscored 39-16.
Joc Pederson hit a leadoff home run, and the Rangers handed ace Jacob deGrom a 2-0 lead after two innings, but the team couldn’t sustain the momentum.
“Probably a couple missed-location pitches tonight that cost us some runs. … The other teams have capitalized on some mistake pitches,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. “So the crooked numbers have cost us the last couple games, and we just haven’t been able to catch up.”
The White Sox, however, took advantage of the scoring opportunities. Benintendi’s big double was his first career hit off deGrom after going hitless in 10 at-bats against him.
“We were kind of waiting for that one big hit. We had chances all night, it felt like,” Benintendi said, per MLB.com. “Obviously he’s really good, so you’re not going to get many pitches to hit. If you miss one, you’re probably not going to get another one. Just stick with it and go from there.”
Texas will turn to right-hander Kumar Rocker (2-8, 4.40 ERA) on Tuesday as he aims to regroup from his struggles to start July. In two starts this month, Rocker is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and four home runs allowed over 10 innings.
Rocker pitched five shutout innings to defeat the visiting White Sox on June 15, 2025, in his lone career appearance against them.
“Win a game. That’s how you get back on track,” Schumaker said. “So (Tuesday), with Rocker going, it’s going to be important for him to get off to a good start to keep us in the game.”
Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz (3-6, 5.60 ERA) will start for the White Sox as they aim to secure their third straight series victory. He has never faced the Rangers.
Schultz will pitch for the first time since July 12, when he picked up his first victory since May 1 with a steady outing against the visiting Athletics in the first-half finale.
After walking seven batters in 9 1/3 innings over his previous two starts, Schultz issued zero walks against four strikeouts while limiting the A’s to one run and four hits in five innings of a 9-1 win.
“We really found that I was just tensing up too much, doing some things,” Schultz said. “We kind of emphasized the whole week of just kind of being loose and being free out there. I think it definitely helped with getting ahead of guys and attacking guys early.”
–Field Level Media
Brewers' Brandon Sproat, former Mets prospect, takes aim at New York
With losing streak broken, Rays look to start stacking wins
