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The history of MLB second basemen is an interesting one – while some of the greatest players of the early 20th century manned second base (e.g. Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Nap Lajoie, etc.), it has not traditionally been viewed as a position for sluggers nor does it have the defensive value of catcher, shortstop, or center field. Nevertheless, it has seen its share of MVP and Hall of Fame-caliber players over the years; in particular, two of the top slugging second basemen in recent memory have been Jeff Kent and Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg retired with the most career home runs by a second baseman, while Kent currently holds that distinction, thus prompting the question:
Who was better – Jeff Kent or Ryne Sandberg?
The Beginning
Both Kent and Sandberg were relatively unheralded prospects who came into professional baseball as mid-round MLB draft picks; on one hand, Sandberg established himself relatively quickly at the major league level, whereas on the other hand, it would take Kent some time (and a few teams) to find his place.
After a college baseball career at local UC Berkeley, Kent was drafted in the 20th round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, where he spent four years in the minor leagues. Upon being called up by the Blue Jays in 1992, he was traded at the deadline to the New York Mets for pitcher David Cone; ultimately, this move helped solidify Toronto’s rotation as they went on to win the World Series that season. As for Kent, across Toronto and New York, he had a middling rookie year, batting .239 with 11 home runs, 50 runs batted in, 52 runs scored, a .312 on-base percentage, and a .430 slugging percentage (good for a 105 OPS+, which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average that is set at 100).
Meanwhile, Sandberg was a three-sport high school star in the state of Washington and earned PARADE All-American status as a quarterback, which earned him a football scholarship at Washington State University. However, after being selected in the 20th round of the 1978 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, he chose to play baseball instead. After a brief call-up in 1981 where he played 13 games for the Phillies, Sandberg was traded in the offseason along with Larry Bowa to the Chicago Cubs for Ivan DeJesus; as the Cub’s starting second baseball in 1982, Sandberg hit .271 as a rookie with 7 home runs, 54 runs batted in, 103 runs scored, 32 stolen bases, a .312 on-base percentage, and a .372 slugging percentage (90 OPS+), good for a seventh-place finish for NL Rookie of the Year.
Career Comparison
During their respective primes, Kent and Sandberg were not only among the best second basemen in the game, but moreover, among the top players in baseball period; in setting historic numbers at the position, each one racked up various awards and honors, including an MVP award apiece.
In his roughly four seasons with the Mets, Kent was a slightly above average player, generally hitting in the .270 to .290 range with teens to low-20s home runs, and 65 to 80 runs batted in per year; his first full year in New York in 1993 was perhaps his most productive, as he hit .270 with 21 home runs, 80 runs batted in, 65 runs scored, a .320 on-base percentage, and a .446 slugging percentage (105 OPS+). However, he developed a reputation as somewhat of a clubhouse cancer and at the 1996 trade deadline, was sent to the Cleveland Indians with Jose Vizcaino for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza. After two months, he was once again on the move, getting traded in the offseason to the San Francisco Giants along with Vizcaino again and Julian Tavarez for longtime Giants third baseman Matt Williams.
It was in San Francisco that Kent’s career really took off batting fourth in the lineup behind Barry Bonds. In his first season as a Giant in 1997, he batted .250 with 29 home runs, 121 runs batted in, 90 runs scored, a .316 on-base percentage, and a .472 slugging percentage, good for a 105 OPS+. In each of his six years in San Francisco, Kent hit at least 20 home runs and drove in 100+ runs; moreover, for nine straight seasons, he had 20+ home runs and 90+ runs batted in. Starting in 1999, he would earn three straight All-Star selections – notably:
- 1999: .290 with 23 home runs, 101 runs batted in, 86 runs scored, a .366 on-base percentage, and a .511 slugging percentage (125 OPS+)
- 2000: a career-high .334 batting average (Kent was a very consistent .275 to .290 hitter year in and year out, but only hit .300+ 3x) with 33 home runs, 125 runs batted in, a career-best 114 runs scored, a career-high .424 on-base percentage (driven by both the career-high batting average and a career-best 90 walks), and a .596 slugging percentage (162 OPS+); not only did he win the first of three straight Silver Sluggers (4x overall), but Kent also took home NL MVP honors over his teammate Bonds in a bit of a surprise
In his final season with the Giants in 2002, Kent hit .313 with a career-high 37 home runs, 108 runs batted in, 102 runs scored, a .368 on-base percentage, and a .565 slugging percentage (147 OPS+) to finish sixth for MVP.
As a free agent in 2003, Kent signed with the Houston Astros and had two strong seasons, including another All-Star campaign in 2004 (.289 with 27 home runs, 107 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a .348 on-base percentage, and a .531 slugging percentage, good for a 123 OPS+). He would then join the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 and had his final All-Star and Silver Slugger season that year, hitting .289 with 29 home runs, 105 runs batted in, 100 runs scored, a .377 on-base percentage, and a .512 slugging percentage (133 OPS+); though his skills were declining, he remained a productive hitter for three more years before retiring after the 2008 season at age 40 as the all-time home run leader among second basemen.
Sandberg’s ascent to stardom came quickly, as he won the first of nine straight Gold Gloves in 1983. The next season, highlighted by the famous “Sandberg Game” on June 23, 1984 vs. the rival St. Louis Cardinals, he developed a power stroke and hit a career-high .314 with a league-best and career-high 19 triples, 19 home runs, 84 runs batted in, a league-leading 114 run scored, 32 stolen bases, a .367 on-base percentage, and a .520 slugging percentage (140 OPS+); not only did he earn the first of 10 straight All-Star Game selections and the first of seven Silver Sluggers, but Sandberg was also named NL MVP. As an encore, he was once again a Gold Glover and Silver Slugger in 1985, batting .305 with 26 home runs, 83 runs batted in, 113 runs scored, a career-high 54 stolen bases, a .364 on-base percentage, and a .504 slugging percentage, good for a 131 OPS+.
From 1986 to 1988, Sandberg’s numbers dipped, though he remained an All-Star player and won another Silver Slugger in 1988, which would mark the first of five consecutive Silver Slugger seasons – of particular note:
- 1989: hit .290 with 30 home runs, 76 runs batted in, a league-leading 104 runs scored, a .356 on-base percentage, and a .497 slugging percentage (134 OPS+); first of four straight seasons with 100+ runs scored and good for a fourth-place MVP finish
- 1990: again fourth for MVP with his best offensive season since 1984 – .306 batting average with a league-high 40 home runs (only the third second baseman ever with 40+ home runs in a season after Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson), 100 runs batted in, a league-leading and career-best 116 runs scored, a .354 on-base percentage, and a career-high .559 slugging percentage (140 OPS+)
Following strong seasons in 1991 and 1992, Sandberg’s power numbers declined in 1993, though he still hit .300+ and was an All-Star for the final time. Upon hitting only .238 after 57 games in 1994, he retired from baseball at age 34, but would return to the Cubs in 1996 – that year, he showed glimpses of his former glory, hitting only .244, but with 25 home runs, 92 runs batted in, and 85 runs scored. After one more season with Chicago in 1997, Sandberg retired for good at age 37.
Over their respective careers, Kent and Sandberg played a similar number of seasons and games, which resulted in a comparable number of at-bats (difference of 113 career at-bats). Kent has the edge in almost every career hitting category, both counting numbers (hits, runs, home runs, runs batted in) and averages (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS+); the one category that Sandberg holds a significant advantage in is stolen bases. Breaking it down by seasons, Kent had more 20+ home run campaigns (12 vs. 6) and seasons with 100+ runs batted in (8 vs. 2), while Sandberg batted 300+ on more occasions (5 vs. 3) and was consistently dangerous on the base paths (9x with 20+ stolen bases vs. none for Kent). Both players won NL MVP once in their careers, though Sandberg was more frequently an All-Star (10 to 5), a Silver Slugger (7 to 4), and most prominently, a Gold Glover (9 to 0). When you look at career Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Sandberg has a significant advantage at 68.0 vs. 55.4, as his vastly superior glove (Kent was a mediocre to at best average defender) and baserunning skills outweigh Kent’s offensive prowess. While Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, Kent continues to wait for the call despite finishing his career among the top offensive second basemen of all time.
Regular Season Statistics
| Jeff Kent | Player | Ryne Sandberg |
| 17 (1992-2008) | Seasons | 16 (1981-1994, 1996-1997) |
| 2,298 | Games Played | 2,164 |
| 8,498 | At-Bats | 8,385 |
| 2,461 | Hits | 2,386 |
| 1,320 | Runs | 1,318 |
| 377 | Home Runs | 282 |
| 1,518 | Runs Batted In | 1,061 |
| 801 | Walks | 761 |
| 94 | Stolen Bases | 344 |
| .290 | Batting Average | .285 |
| .356 | On-Base Percentage | .344 |
| .500 | Slugging Percentage | .452 |
| 123 | OPS+ | 114 |
| 55.4 | Wins Above Replacement | 68.0 |
| 5x | All-Star Games | 10x |
| 1x | MVP | 1x |
| – | World Series Titles | – |
| 4x Silver Slugger | Other Awards | 7x Silver Slugger, 9x Gold Glove |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | 2005 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Despite individual success and accomplishments, neither Kent nor Sandberg reached the ultimate team goal of winning a World Series, though Kent came very close and played admirably even in defeat.
During his career, Kent made seven playoff appearances across four different teams (Indians, Giants, Astros, and Dodgers), with his most memorable performances coming with San Francisco and Houston. Notably, in 2002, he and Bonds led the Giants past Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, then the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, before facing off against the Anaheim Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels) in the World Series; despite blowing a Game 6 lead and falling in seven games, Kent had a stellar series, hitting .276 with 3 home runs and 7 runs batted in (including a pair of long balls in a Game 5 victory). A couple of years later, as a member of the Astros in 2004, Houston would beat the Braves in the NLDS and play Albert Pujols and the Cardinals in the NLCS – once again, though his team would go the distance and lose, Kent blasted 3 more home runs and drove in 7 runs during the seven-game series.
As for Sandberg, he only made it to the postseason twice in his career – first, during his 1984 MVP season, he guided Chicago to the Eastern Division title (the Cubs’ first championship of any kind since 1945), but they would lose in the NLCS to the Tony Gwynn-led San Diego Padres in five games. Likewise, in 1989, the Cubs would lose in the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants in five games; despite his team’s general lack of playoff season, Sandberg did hit above .300 both times.
Playoff Statistics
| Jeff Kent | Player | Ryne Sandberg |
| 49 | Games Played | 10 |
| 170 | At-Bats | 39 |
| 47 | Hits | 15 |
| 25 | Runs | 9 |
| 9 | Home Runs | 1 |
| 23 | Runs Batted In | 6 |
| 13 | Walks | 6 |
| 1 | Stolen Bases | 3 |
| .276 | Batting Average | .385 |
| .340 | On-Base Percentage | .457 |
| .500 | Slugging Percentage | .641 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; whereas Kent did not hit his career stride until later on, Sandberg’s play declined in the 1990s and even resulted in a brief temporary retirement. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Jeff Kent | Player | Ryne Sandberg |
| 1997-2005, 2007 | Decade of Dominance | 1983-1992 |
| 1,460 | Games Played | 1,536 |
| 5,526 | At-Bats | 6,064 |
| 1,636 | Hits | 1,766 |
| 921 | Runs | 971 |
| 273 | Home Runs | 224 |
| 1,073 | Runs Batted In | 782 |
| 581 | Walks | 583 |
| 77 | Stolen Bases | 282 |
| .296 | Batting Average | .291 |
| .367 | On-Base Percentage | .352 |
| .527 | Slugging Percentage | .470 |
| 44.3 | Wins Above Replacement | 56.7 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Interestingly, in comparing their 10 best years, while Kent remains the more powerful slugger, Sandberg had better durability and thus accumulated more hits and runs; the vast majority of their career WAR differential is captured in this decade of dominance, again bolstered by Sandberg’s elite defensive skills and strong baserunning abilities.
My Thoughts
In comparing Jeff Kent and Ryne Sandberg, we are looking at two different archetypes of baseball players – the offensively gifted force who thrives in spite of his defense vs. the all-around star who excels with both the bat and the glove. If you are looking for the better hitter, I would go with Kent, but hitting is only one part of the equation; factoring in defense and baserunning, Sandberg has a significant advantage in both, thus giving him the edge in two out of three categories and making him the better overall baseball player. Nevertheless, when it comes to the question of whether or not Kent belongs in the Hall of Fame, I think the answer is a definitive yes – he is the all-time home run king among second basemen and for the better part of a decade, one of the most consistent and dangerous sluggers in baseball; perhaps his surly personality is holding him back, but there is no reason why he should not one day have his plaque in Cooperstown alongside Sandberg.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Ryne Sandberg
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
More Good Stuff
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