Hall of Fame welcomes Kent, keeps Bonds, Clemens locked out

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There were a number of ironies surrounding the results of the contemporary baseball era committee's Hall of Fame ballot , announced Sunday night at MLB's winter meetings.

Perhaps the most poignant is this: If not for Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent -- the only one of the eight players under consideration selected Sunday -- might not be bound for Cooperstown. While Kent is the all-time home run hitter among second basemen, he was on the same ballot as Bonds -- who hit more homers than anyone, at any position.

During a post-announcement news conference, Kent recalled the way he and Bonds used to push, prod and sometimes annoy each other during their six seasons as teammates on the San Francisco Giants . Those were Kent's best seasons, a fairly late-career peak that ran from 199