Neither Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones, former Los Angeles Dodgers who both entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame this offseason, will wear an L.A. cap at Cooperstown, per Mark Feinsand.
Kent will wear a San Francisco Giants uniform, and Jones will wear an Atlanta Braves uniform.
Cap choices decide which team a Hall of Famer will represent, and typically is given to the team with which the player defined his career. Players used to choose their team on their own, but now they work with the Hall of Fame to determine the club they’ll represent in Cooperstown.
If players impacted the game with multiple teams, they can enter without a cap logo. The most recent instance of this is with 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Leyland, who managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers.
Why is Jeff Kent Wearing a Giants Hat in the Hall of Fame?
Of the two former Dodgers to enter the Hall this season, Kent would be the one more realistically wearing a Dodger cap.
He played four years with the Dodgers to end his career, posting 6.8 bWAR in 521 games played. He hit 75 homers and drove in 311 RBIs across those four seasons, making his final All-Star Game and winning his final Silver Slugger award in 2005.
His numbers with the Dodgers were solid, but he was a far superior player with the Giants.
Kent hit a majority of his home runs with San Francisco, tallying 175 in orange and black. He won the 2000 MVP award with the Giants, and made three consecutive All-Star Games from 1999-2001. He also had three consecutive Silver Slugger awards from 2000-02.
Why is Andruw Jones Wearing a Braves Hat in the Hall of Fame?
Jones had a much worse time in Dodger blue than Kent, posting the worst season of his career with the Dodgers in 2008.
Jones played just 75 games for the Dodgers, posting a .505 OPS, his worst by a wide margin. With the Braves, though, the center fielder was one of the best defensive players in MLB.
He won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves with the Braves, and also earned a Silver Slugger award in 2005 — when he finished second in MVP voting. The five-time All-Star had a .839 OPS across 12 seasons with the Braves, and was only ever going to be a Brave in Cooperstown.
One Response
Kent’s choice makes sense, although IIRC there was some bitterness around his departure from the rival in the north state.
Jones on the other hand, stunk the place up so badly as a Dodger I wouldn’t want him to wear a Dodgers cap.