Former Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon Blasts Surprising Hall Of Fame News

Jonathan Papelbon appeared to disagree with the Contemporary Baseball Era committee’s controversial Hall of Fame decision.

The Era Committee voted to induct Jeff Kent into the Hall of Fame on Sunday night. He received 14 of 16 votes as the only player to draw the necessary 75 percent on a ballot also featuring Roger Clemens and former San Francisco Giants teammate Barry Bonds.

Papelbon took umbrage with the process on social media. The former Boston Red Sox closer seems to prefer containing the induction process to Baseball Writers’ Association of America members.

“Can we please just let the men that are members themselves be the only ones to vote,” Papelbon said. “Then (maybe) like this wouldn’t happen!”

This year’s Era Committee consists of seven Hall of Fame players (Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount), six MLB executives (Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan) and three media members/historians (Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark). Despite Papelbon’s faulty assumption, the committee isn’t all men.

Few expected Kent to get elected from a stacked grouping. The second baseman batted a career .290/.356/.500 with 377 home runs and a lower WAR (55.4) than Chase Utley (64.6), who fell significantly short of HOF induction with 39.8 percent of the BWAA’s votes earlier this year.

It was also conspicuous that Bonds missed the cut while his biggest benefactor got recognized. Batting behind MLB’s all-time home runs leader, who was frequently walked during his peak, allowed Kent to compile six consecutive 100-plus RBI seasons with the Giants.

Since they received fewer than five votes, Bonds and Clemens aren’t eligible for consideration again until 2031.