Kent Calls It Quits

Jeff Kent, who has been a valuable second baseman for several teams over his 17-year career, has retired. Kent is known for his six productive seasons with the San Francisco Giants, where he was paired with slugger Barry Bonds to form a dangerous combination in the middle of the lineup. Among his six seasons with the Giants was a World Series appearance in the 2002 World Series. The Giants lost that series to the Anaheim Angels in seven games.

Kent won the 2000 NL MVP over his teammate Bonds, and was a five-time All-Star selection. In that 2000 season, Kent had a .334 batting average with 33 home runs and 125 runs batted in. Kent's production with the Giants was always consistent, and that helped the team stay consistent in the playoff race, despite not winning a World Series.

Kent was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989 but was traded to the New York Mets in the middle of the 1992 season. The Blue Jays went on to win the World Series later that year, where Kent missed an opportunity to win a championship. He spent a couple of seasons with the Mets and then was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1996. The next year, the Indians traded Kent to the Giants, where he stayed until 2004. He would play for the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish his career.

I believe Kent was very instrumental to the Giants. He consistently drove in runs when the team needed them. He was a big reason the Giants came so close to winning a World Series, even though many people may believe Barry Bonds was the only reason. I believe he has been with a lot of teams in his career because of his attitude. He's been known to have a temper, and that may not have sat well with the teams he was on. However, I believe he belongs in Cooperstown in the Baseball Hall of Fame.