HOUSTON, TX – December 18, 2025 – Newly elected Baseball Hall of Famer Jeff Kent spent only two seasons with the Houston Astros, but his brief tenure left an indelible mark on franchise history, highlighted by one of the most memorable moments in the team’s history.
Kent, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee on December 8, is best remembered in Houston for his dramatic walk-off three-run homer against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the 2004 National League Championship Series on October 18, 2004.
The game was scoreless entering the bottom of the ninth inning when Carlos Beltrán led off with a single against Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen. After Lance Berkman was intentionally walked, Kent crushed the first pitch he saw to the train tracks above left field, sending fans into a frenzy and putting the Astros within one win of their first World Series appearance.
“There were pictures of me coming from third base to home plate, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited in my whole baseball career, even in the World Series,” Kent said. “I guess I got ahead of myself, because I thought we were going to win and go to the World Series.”
The Cardinals rallied to win Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis, crushing Houston’s championship hopes. The homer proved to be Kent’s final at-bat in an Astros uniform.
Kent signed with Houston as a free agent prior to the 2003 season on a two-year, $17.5 million contract. In two seasons with the Astros, he batted .293 with 49 home runs and 200 RBIs, earning All-Star honors in 2004 when he led the team with 107 RBIs.
The Astros join Nellie Fox, Joe Morgan, Craig Biggio, and now Kent as Hall of Famers who played second base for Houston.