Kent walks away after 17 seasons

[Bear]

01/21/09
By Ken Gurnick
MLB.com

Retires as all-time home run leader among second basemen

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Kent, the premier slugging second baseman of his generation and arguably of all-time, will announce his retirement at a Dodger Stadium news conference Thursday.

The 40-year-old Kent will retire with a resume worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. The all-time leading home-run hitter at his position, he played the last four seasons of a 17-year MLB career with the Dodgers, hitting a combined .291 with 75 home runs.

He will retire with a .290 career batting average, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage. His 351 home runs hit as a second baseman are 74 more than the next closest second baseman, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

The 2000 National League MVP, Kent was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger. He drove in more than 100 runs eight times (a record at the position), scored at least 100 runs three times and had at least 20 home runs 12 times. In 2008, he passed Ralph Kiner, Gil Hodges and Carlton Fisk on the all-time home-run list and passed Billy Williams, Dave Parker and Mickey Mantle on the all-time RBIs list. He's tied with Eddie Murray for 20th on the all-time doubles list with 560.

Last year, Kent became the first 40-year-old in Dodgers history to go into a season as a starting position player. After batting .253 during the first half of the season with little protection in the lineup, he enjoyed a resurgence when Manny Ramirez was added to the lineup. Kent caught fire to hit .353 in August, only to injure his knee Aug. 29 and undergo surgery Sept. 2.

While the Dodgers were overtaking the Diamondbacks to win the NL West, Kent rushed back in time to make the postseason roster and let it be known he felt ready to play. But he was relegated to a bench role during both playoff series and went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts. He finished the regular season hitting .280 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs in 121 games.

Following the 2008 season, Kent was eligible for free agency and Dodgers management, anticipating his retirement, moved Blake DeWitt to second base after re-signing Casey Blake. DeWitt had replaced Kent at the position after the surgery.

Kent's best season with the Dodgers was 2005, when he hit 29 homers with 105 RBIs and 100 runs scored and made his only All-Star appearance for the club, the first Dodger to start an All-Star game at second base since Steve Sax in 1983.

The son of a policeman, Kent grew up in Southern California, was a walk-on shortstop at the University of California at Berkeley and began his professional career after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989.
He also played for the Mets, Indians, Giants and Astros, enjoying his greatest success when matched with antagonist Barry Bonds in the Giants' lineup. With San Francisco in 2002, Kent made his only World Series appearance, hitting three home runs while the Giants lost to the Angels in seven games.

Early in his career, Kent developed a reputation for his work ethic and no-nonsense commitment to winning, although he received at least as much media attention for his intolerance of teammates who didn't share his intense approach. He had run-ins with Bonds, as well as Dodgers teammate Milton Bradley.

In 2007, he aired his frustration to reporters after the Dodgers had fallen out of the division race and the resulting dust-up fueled stories about a clubhouse divide between old and young players that hastened the departure of manager Grady Little.

In recent years, Kent has been critical of players who used performance-enchancing drugs, while advocating more widespread testing to ensure a level playing field.

Kent, who makes his offseason home in Austin, Tex., is married with four children, the oldest age 12 and the youngest 5. He has increasingly expressed interest in spending more time at home with his family. He also runs Kent Powersports, owner of Yamaha of San Antonio.
Good luck Jeff! You were a great Giant!

Now a few questions.

Does he get into the Hall on the first ballot?
Does he go in as a Giant?

[Swede]

Good for him. So is he going into the hall as a Giant??????//

[McCovey]

It was Kent's time. He couldn't get around a fastball any more and that was his bread-and-butter. The next stop for Kent is the Hall of Fame.

[Bear]

Well guys you still have not answered my questions?:)

[Swede]

First ballot as a Blue Jay since they drafted him in 1989.

[McCovey]

Well guys you still have not answered my questions?:)
Given how long Ryne Sandberg had to wait I think Kent may not get in on the first ballot. Right now the 2014 ballot will have Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, and Jeff Kent among the big name players. However, we still don't know about Tom Glavine either. If he retires now this will add another "sure thing" which may push Kent back. And Kent should go in as a Giant since his best years and MVP season came in San Francisco.

[Bear]

First ballot as a Blue Jay since they drafted him in 1989.

I agree on the first ballot, but not on the Blue Jay. I hate to be a homer but I think his best years were with the Giants and I think he would agree. So I say Giants.;)

[McCovey]

I agree on the first ballot, but not on the Blue Jay. I hate to be a homer but I think his best years were with the Giants and I think he would agree. So I say Giants.;)
Kent's Giants career was outstanding. There shouldn't be any disagreement as to what hat he should wear on his HoF plaque.

[TkleMstr52]

Does he like the club tho? Did he leave on good terms? HOF for sure, not on the 1st shot tho.

[McCovey]

Does he like the club tho? Did he leave on good terms? HOF for sure, not on the 1st shot tho.
Kent will be honored by the Giants this season on the new Wall of Fame. Also, though Kent can tell the HoF his preference on what hat he wants on his plaque, the HoF has the final say and can go against the payer's wishes. This change was made a few years ago because either Dave Winfield basically auctioned of his hat to the highest bidder. From an Internet source:


Last year, a similar bidding war ensued among the six teams for which new Hall entrant Dave Winfield had played in his illustrious career. It eventually came down to the two teams with which Winfield had spent the most time (eight seasons each) and for which he had attained his most notable successes: the San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees. Sure enough, just as Winfield’s career path had been charted by determining which suitor’s wallet opened the deepest, a situation again developed where the lanky outfielder received offers from both teams before making his decision. Published reports at the time indicated that then–Padres president Larry Lucchino — now the Sox’ president — acknowledged that his team had offered Winfield perks to select a Padres cap over New York’s, an offer which potentially included a job offer within the Padres organization. It has never been resolved whether Winfield approached the pinstripers and asked them to match the $200,000 bonus the team gave Reggie Jackson to wear the Yankees’ hat upon his induction, but New York refused to offer Winfield any rewards or quid pro quo. Winfield made his decision, and is now a vice-president and senior advisor in the Padres’ front office, and his number was retired by the team a year ago in a pre-game ceremony (that included a new Mercedes-Benz as a fabulous parting gift). He is the first Hall of Famer to wear a Padres hat on his plaque, though most of the team’s fans probably would have preferred franchise favorite and noted one-team-and-only-one-team Tony Gwynn to be the first.

Since then, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that it, and not the player, will now determine which cap an inducted player wears. At the time, Hall president Dale Petroskey said, "In Winfield’s case, we gave him the opportunity to be a part of the process since the majority of his career was divided evenly between the Padres [1117 games] and the Yankees [1172]." Later he commented, "History is not marketable. Our responsibility is to communicate history accurately." Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson expounded upon that controversy to the Gannett News Service’s Mel Antonen last year, admitting that "Crazy things can happen in contracts," most likely in reference to Giants’ outfielder Barry Bonds telling people that upon his induction into the Hall, he would wear the hat of the team that signed him to his final contract.

Well, in the coming years, the issue will raise its ugly head on the local front again. As long-time baseball columnist Peter Gammons wrote on ESPN.com last week, "When Dave Winfield essentially auctioned off his Hall of Fame plaque cap to the highest bidder, it forced the Hall to change the rule so that the player will no longer decide what cap he wears into the Hall. As one Cooperstown official notes, this means that no matter what side deals Wade Boggs made with the Devil Rays and Roger Clemens with the Yankees, when they are enshrined in Cooperstown, they will have Boston caps on their plaques. Which means Boggs and Clemens will have uniform-retiring ceremonies at Fenway Park."

[TkleMstr52]

Nuff said, sounds good to me, thats how he needs to be in

[Bear]

I am sure the Hall asks what hat he wants and I am just as sure it will be a Giants hat!:cool: