National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Announced, Kenny Lofton Still Seeks Recognition
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 has been announced, with CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, and Billy Wagner set to join the game’s greats in Cooperstown. While the baseball world celebrates these three amazing ballplayers, Kenny Lofton is still seeking recognition for his remarkable career.
Lofton, a six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, spent 17 seasons in MLB, amassing 2,428 hits and a 68.4 WAR over 2,103 games. Despite his impressive career statistics, Lofton has struggled to gain the recognition he believes he deserves, failing to receive at least 5% of the vote on the Hall of Fame ballot.
“I didn’t get credit for what I did. It’s kinda sad. I still don’t get credit,” Lofton told Fox News Digital. “I can only say all the time that, from my era and my time, I did what I was supposed to do. I thought at that time, it was very important for me to do my job as a teammate, and that was an important part of the game.”
Lofton’s first year on the Hall of Fame ballot was among the most stacked in history, with 10 players vying for induction, including Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, and Edgar Martinez. Although Lofton fell short of receiving the necessary votes, he is still convinced that his numbers deserve consideration.
The sabermetric community has also acknowledged Lofton’s impressive career, with a JAWS metric (Jaffe WAR Score) that ranks him 10th among center fielders. Every player above him on the list is already in the Hall of Fame, except for Mike Trout, who is still active.
Ichiro Suzuki, who was voted into the Hall of Fame just one vote shy of a unanimous selection, shares a similar plight with Lofton. Both players excelled during the Steroid Era, an era marked by controversy and cheating. Lofton believes that the era’s shadow has unfairly influenced the perception of his career.
“All I’m asking from people is look at my numbers a little bit more,” Lofton said. “That was all I wanted because when you look at the stats and what people say, I have one of the highest WARs in history, especially for center fielders.”
Lofton’s quest for recognition continues, as the Contemporary Committee votes in December 2025. Although he previously went through this process in 2022, Lofton is hopeful that this time around, his numbers will be given the consideration they deserve.
Sometimes, Lofton looks back at his career and wonders if his efforts were worth it. “I look back at it like, ‘Dude, did I play the game the right way?'” he questioned. “People are getting all these accolades for what they’re doing now. I’m like, wait a minute, what I did I guess was nothing at this point looking at how they perceive the game and how they look at it.”
Lofton’s only request is that people look at his numbers and compare them to those of his peers already enshrined in the Hall of Fame. When asked if there’s a player he feels most comparable to, Lofton responded, “I think Ichiro is a little bit of that. That’s what hurts me to see Ichiro get his due, and the same goes for Tim Raines, whose 23-year career saw a speedy outfielder hitting for average rather than home runs.”
With his legacy on the line, Lofton can only hope that the Hall of Fame committee takes a closer look at his impressive career statistics.
