Former Pirates catcher Kendall earned a World Series ring; is the Hall of Fame next?

November was a month to remember for former Pirates catcher Jason Kendall. Within a one-week span, he experienced two career-defining accomplishments.

As a special assignment coach for the Kansas City Royals, he was part of the franchise's first World Series championship in 30 years. Then he was one of 15 newcomers named to the Baseball Writers' Association of America Hall of Fame ballot.

While the championship wasn't unexpected — “I thought we had the best team,” he said — the Hall of Fame nomination came as bit of a surprise.

“I knew it was five years since I last played, but I never paid attention to it,” Kendall said. “It's an unbelievable honor just to be on there. It's very flattering, something not many players can say they achieved.”

Kendall hardly is the most recognizable first-timer on the ballot, whose results will be revealed Jan. 6. Ken Griffey Jr. is considered a shoo-in for enshrinement, and Trevor Hoffman will merit strong consideration. Players need to be listed on 75 percent of the ballots to gain induction.

Kendall, who had a lot of hits but little power during a durable 15-year career, could find it difficult to accrue the five percent of votes required to remain on the ballot for another year.

That would be a shame, say members of the Royals organization who are among his biggest supporters.

“I think he's very underrated,” Royals assistant general manager Scott Sharp said. “In some areas, his numbers are as good as catchers already in the Hall of Fame.”

Among catchers, Kendall's 2,195 hits and 2,025 games caught each rank fifth on the all-time list. He's fifth in doubles, eighth in on-base percentage and 11th in batting average. His 189 steals are most for a catcher in the live-ball era, defined as the period beginning in 1920.

What hurts Kendall's candidacy are his 75 home runs rank 122nd and his 744 RBIs are 32nd.

“He played a position that I think is the toughest in all of athletics,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “It requires so much skill. I think there are more quality NFL quarterbacks than major league catchers, and Jason did his job extremely well, and he did it better than most.”

Sharp compiled a spreadsheet comparing Kendall's statistics to other Hall of Fame catchers. Much of his concentration focused on catchers inducted in the past 50 years: Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter.

Only Fisk caught more games and had more hits than Kendall, whose .288 batting average and .366 on-base percentage were the highest among those players. He also is the only one of the group to have more walks than strikeouts.

“The knock on him is he didn't have the power numbers,” Sharp said. “That wasn't the type of player he was. I would ask people to appreciate him for the player he was, not punish him for the player he wasn't.”

Kendall's take?

“I played every pitch as hard as I could,” he said. “I got some hits. I wasn't a power hitter and I didn't win a championship, but I had a lot of fun playing.”

Eleven years after leaving Pittsburgh, Kendall finally became part of a championship organization. To be a small part of the Royals' success is something he cherishes, particularly after his nine seasons with the Pirates resulted in losing records.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was coming to Kansas City,” he said.

Kendall finished his career with the Royals, playing the 2010 season with them, and decided to make his permanent residence in Kansas City. As a father of two, he thought it was a good place for him to raise Kuyper, 11, and Karoline, 8, with his fiance and her two children. The player who grew up surfing in Southern California sold his beach-front property and relocated to America's heartland.

“I have great neighbors, and my kids are happy here,” he said. “It's stable. I love it here. I won't go back (to California).”

Kendall agreed to remain on the Royals' payroll in his current role but only if it didn't interfere with his kids' activities. Kendall coaches Kuyper's Little League team and helps with his youth football team.

“I would love to get back in the dugout full time,” Kendall said. “But not until my kids are grown.”

Kendall attends most Royals home games. He is on the field for batting practice. He sits in on scouting report meetings. Once the game starts, he heads upstairs to sit in the general manager's box with Moore and Sharp.

“He's been willing to do whatever we've needed,” Moore said. “He's a very experienced baseball man and has a lot of passion and respect for the game. A lot of our players seek him out and get his opinions on all aspects of the game. I value his input as well.”

Kendall had a chance to watch his former team play this past summer during a series at Kauffman Stadium. He came away impressed with what the Pirates have accomplished during the past three seasons.

“My first home was Pittsburgh. I have so many good memories from my time there. I loved Pittsburgh. I wish we could have won there,” Kendall said. “To see what they've done the last three years, a part of me is proud. It's just not all about the Steelers and Penguins there anymore. It's about time the Pirates are in the same sentence with them.”

Joe Rutter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.