Kenny Lofton: A Hall of Fame Case Forgotten

One of MLB's greatest Hall of Fame snubs is the case of Kenny Lofton. After being on the ballot for a lone year, even after numerous amazing achievements throughout his career, Lofton's Hall of Fame case was dismissed without a second thought.

Lofton, perhaps the greatest leadoff hitter of his generation, was never a flashy player or what some might consider a “superstar”. However, over the course of his 17 year career (1991-2007), Lofton earned six All-Star nods and four Gold Glove Awards while slashing .299/.372/.423, with an OPS of .794 and OPS+ of 107. 

While his slash line may not immediately stick out, Lofton was a speedy contact hitter, who made a name for himself by getting on base. Lofton accumulated 2,428 hits over the course of his career, placing him 121st all-time. This achievement was amazing in itself, with over 20,000 players having played in MLB since the National League's inception in 1876. Lofton not only ranked high on the all-time hits leaderboard but stole 622 bases over the course of his career, ranking 15th all-time. Lofton was so fast, that he even reached home on a passed ball from second base in 1995! Lofton’s dual achievements—ranking high on the all-time hits and stolen bases leaderboards—are evidence that his Hall of Fame case deserves serious consideration.

To emphasize the similarities between Lofton and Hall of Fame center fielders we can use a simple metric like bWAR. Lofton also accumulated a career bWAR of 68.4, leaving him at ninth all-time among center fielders. Of the nine center fielders ahead of Lofton, only two are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame and likely will end up enshrined in Cooperstown anyway. These two players are Mike Trout and Carlos Beltran. 

Trout is still active and not yet eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame, but surely will get the call upon reaching five years in retirement (whenever that is). Beltran on the other hand, just recently had his second year on the ballot, where he received 57.1% of votes cast. Considering Hall of Fame hopefuls need to reach the 75% mark, Beltran doesn’t have that far to go, and still has eight years on the ballot. 

Not only will every center fielder ahead of Lofton likely end up in Cooperstown, but center fielders below Lofton on the leaderboards, such as Duke Snider, Andre Dawson, and Richie Ashburn, have already been elected!

Lofton’s career was also filled with several memorable moments that defined him as a player. One such moment came during the 2002 season, while Lofton was the Giants CF. In game five of the 2002 NLCS, Lofton came up with the game on the line in the bottom of the 9th. With two outs and runners on first and second, he hit a soft single into right field, that allowed the winning run to score, and sent the Giants to the World Series. 

Unfortunately, the only opportunity Lofton had to showcase his resume on the ballot was in 2013. The 2013 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot was one of the most stacked in recent years. This ballot featured not only nine future Hall of Famers, but additional names like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire. 

During his lone year on the ballot, Lofton received 18 of 569 votes or 3.2%. By falling short of the 5% mark, Lofton’s case was one-and-done, and his Hall of Fame dreams were gone. While asked about the results of the 2013 vote, Lofton claimed “[It] crushed me”.

Admittedly, it is ultimately a combination of luck and voting standards that decided Lofton’s fate. He was overshadowed by future Hall of Famers and other superstars (who did not eventually get in due to connection to PED use) and was not going to crack the Hall of Fame on his first try on the ballot. However, it is an outrage that a player of Lofton’s caliber fell to one-and-done on the ballot, with no chance of being elected in sight. 

The face value of players like Bonds and Clemens, who violated MLB drug policy, completely ruined Lofton's chances to even remain on the ballot for a second year and overshadowed the work of an honest, hard-working player who excelled in the Steroid Era.

While Lofton may not have received a Hall of Fame election, he is still one of Major League Baseball’s all-time greats and should be celebrated as such. His case is just one of many, like Rafael Palmeiro, showing the flaws in the BBWAA Hall of Fame voting process. By continually celebrating Lofton’s excellent career, we as fans recognize and encourage that a player can still have a storied and meaningful career, even without being in the Hall of Fame.

Kenny Lofton’s career was just that. He was a great player, who lives atop multiple leaderboards, and will continue to do so for years to come. While he may not be enshrined in Cooperstown, the achievements of his amazing career should be enshrined deep into the minds of baseball fans everywhere. 

(Statistics found in: baseball-reference.com, baseballegg.com)

Cover photo credit: Thom Sheridan via flickr