Houston Sports - Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent

Born: March 7, 1968

Sport: Baseball (5-time All-Star, 4-time Silver Slugger, MVP, Hall of Fame)

Before getting started, my website stats say this is my 400th blog post.  Pretty cool!  Thank you again to everyone who takes the time to click and read! 

It is Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, New York.  Three men have been inducted into baseball's primary museum, and although debate goes on about what athletes, coaches, and contributors have been included or excluded, it certainly remains high praise to have a plaque with your name on it placed alongside so many legendary names.  One of this year's honorees had a brief, but impactful, time in Houston and has left a bit of himself in the Astros record book.  Throughout his 17 year career with six different teams, he set new standards for his position and never had a negative WAR (a stat measuring your level of play against the rest of the league's players at your position).  Today, as fans of baseball celebrate Jeff Kent, I want to take a brief moment to look at the story of his life and career.

Jeff Kent's home with the Astros from 2003-04

As a young child born in Bellflower, California, Jeff Kent learned early how to earn the things in life that he wanted.  He was the oldest child of Alan and Sherry Kent with two younger brothers who were seven and nine years younger than him.  As he grew up in Huntington Beach, Jeff decided that he wanted a Walkman.  It was 1982 and he was 14 years old, and although mowing lawns and babysitting kids in the neighborhood helped, Jeff found that the money wasn't coming as fast as he'd hoped.  When parents Alan and Sherry decided to take a trip together for a few days, however, he saw his opportunity.  Talking them out of finding a sitter, Jeff agreed to watch his younger brothers for four days in exchange for what it took to earn that Walkman.  When that deal worked out, they remembered it and a few years later offered him another one - earn a scholarship and get a truck.  Kent had become a good student and standout baseball player at Edison High School, although early on he preferred competitive motocross.  But as a senior in 1986, his baseball coach asked Kent to leave the team because of a factor that would pop up throughout his career - attitude and expectations.  With no hope of a sports scholarship, he got into UC Berkeley on academics but tried out for the baseball team and was offered a spot.

As a freshman, Jeff Kent recorded a school-record 25 doubles and earned a partial scholarship, as well as that truck from his parents.  By his 1988 season he helped the Golden Bears make it into the College World Series, but the following year was disappointing and once again resulted in a clash with coaches.  Despite a broken wrist scaring of scouts and causing Kent to slip to the 20th round of the MLB draft, he was eventually selected by the Toronto Blue Jays and quickly left Cal to begin his professional career.  His rise through the minor leagues was deliberate but steady, with a full season each at Low A, High A, and AA levels.  As his career was starting to take off, Kent also found success in his personal life as he tied the knot with wife Dana, with whom he remains married with four kids.  Kent was invited to spring training in 1992 and was supposed to start the season at the AAA level, but outfielder Derek Bell suffered a broken wrist in the second game of the year and Kent was called up before he even had a chance to play in the minors.  Making his major league debut on April 12, 1992, he was a 5th inning replacement at third base and recorded a double in his first at-bat while leading off the 6th inning.  To remind himself of where he'd come from, Kent sported a mustache to honor his father, a motorcycle police officer who had worn the same facial hair for years, and a gold chain around his neck from his mother.  After seeing limited action early in the season, an injury to third baseman Kelly Gruber allowed Kent to see more action.  After just 65 games with Toronto, he was traded to the New York Mets as the Blue Jays tried to bolster their pitching staff for a playoff run that ultimately resulted in a World Series victory.  Kent was awarded a championship ring, despite no longer playing for the franchise by the time they claimed victory.

For five seasons, Jeff Kent played for the Mets and had something of a bumpy ride.  His clubhouse reputation wasn't stellar, as he refused to participate in rookie hazing rituals that he had already endured in Toronto and isolated himself from his teammates.  Kent's bat was rarely much of an issue, but his temper and fielding issues did little to endear him with anyone, especially as the team scuffled to bad win-loss records each year.  During the 1996 season, Kent's time in the Big Apple came to an end thanks to a trade to Cleveland, and although his play during just 39 games for the Indians wasn't particularly strong he did get his first taste of postseason play and recorded a double and two runs scored in eight at bats.  The 1997 season would change the course of Kent's career, however, as he was traded during the offseason to the San Francisco Giants under the management of Dusty Baker.  Kent was finally treated like a veteran and given a consistent position in the field and in the batting order, just behind Barry Bonds.  He rewarded Baker's confidence with a strong season at the plate, helping the Giants to their first division win in eight years.  The 1998 season marked Kent's best offensive season to that point, eclipsing 30 HR for the first time and batting .297 with 128 RBI, and was also a notable year off the field as he helped establish the Women Driven program at UC Berkeley to help women in collegiate sports.  It wasn't until 1999, however, at the age of 31 when Kent finally earned his first trip to the All-Star Game.  One year later he not only repeated as an All-Star while playing in San Francisco's brand new Pacific Bell Park, but he also won his first of three straight Silver Slugger awards and beat out teammate Barry Bonds for the NL MVP Award (although Bonds would take the vote for each of the next four consecutive years).  A third All-Star season in 2001 was followed by the Giants making a run to the World Series in 2002, which they lost to the Anaheim Angels in seven games.  Before that season, Kent made headlines when he claimed to have broken his wrist while washing a truck, when in fact he had been doing motorcycle tricks in violation of the terms of his contract.  Mistrust with team leadership, a growing feud with Bonds, and the departure of Dusty Baker after the World Series loss resulted in Kent's decision to leave San Francisco.  During the offseason he signed a two-year contract to become a member of the Houston Astros.

Although Jeff Kent was no stranger to replacing fan favorites, having been traded for Giants favorite Matt Williams when he initially joined that team, the situation in Houston involved displacing a true legend.  Longtime second baseman and future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio agreed to move to the outfield to make room for Kent, and the new teammate did his best to endear himself with the home crowd by smacking a home run in his first plate appearance as an Astro.  The team floundered late in the season after a strong start, however, and did not reach the playoffs when they finished the year one game behind the Chicago Cubs.  They responded by signing a pair of arms from the New York Yankees - Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.  Kent once again played to an All-Star level but the team replaced manager Jimy Williams after reaching the mark of 44-44.  Under the leadership of Phil Garner, the Astros finished with a 36-10 record to leapfrog five teams and take the NL Wild Card.  Kent reached a personal milestone, smacking his 288th home run as a second baseman to surpass Ryne Sandberg and become the all-time HR leader for players at the position.  In the playoffs, Kent helped the team to their first-ever series victory, taking three of five against the rival Atlanta Braves.  In Houston's first NLCS, Jeff Kent hit the most memorable home run of his Astros tenure by sending a 3-run walk-off blast over the left field wall to break a scoreless tie in game five.  The St. Louis Cardinals eventually prevailed in seven games, however, and Kent's contract ended.  He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish his career near his childhood home, playing one final All-Star/Silver Slugger season in 2005 and making playoff appearances in both 2006 and 2008.  When he finally announced his retirement in January of 2009, Kent was comfortably the all-time leader among second basement in home runs with 351 (out of his total of 377) and second in slugging behind Rogers Hornsby.  Determined to spend more time with family, he returned to his family's home near Austin, Texas, and has kept that truck that his parents gave him all those years ago at their ranch as a reminder of the little things that alter the trajectory of our lives.  All three of his sons played baseball in college, with youngest boy Kaeden being drafted into the Yankees organization in last year's draft.  In addition to the Women Driven program, Kent also donated money to fund the Golden Bears baseball team when it was threatened by financial limitations.  After leaving the field he spent some time as a spring training batting instructor for the Giants and then competed on a season of Survivor.  Today, while watching his family expand with five grandchildren so far, Kent is a businessman who owns the Diamond K Ranch south of San Antonio, several motorcycle dealerships along I-35, and a sports training complex in Austin.  In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, Kent's number 21 will be retired next month by the San Francisco Giants.

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