Kent spent 17 years in the Major Leagues, tying for 20th on baseball’s all-time list with 560 doubles, while ranking 47th with 1,518 RBI and 62nd with 377 home runs. His 351 career home runs as a second baseman are 74 more than Ryne Sandberg. Kent played the final four seasons of his career with the Dodgers, batting .291 with 122 doubles, 75 home runs, and 311 RBI. He ranks eighth in club history in batting average (minimum 1,800 AB), while also placing among franchise leaders with 73 home runs as a second baseman (third) and 497 games played at second base (fifth).One of the things he will be remembered for is his public screaming match with Barry Bonds. Which, I'm sure, us Dodgers fans found immensely entertaining.
Let me add a memory I have of Jeff Kent during Spring Training from a couple of years ago in Vero Beach. Kent was signing autographs before an afternoon match. As he was signing fans started shouting questions. The usually surly and grumpy Kent was more than happy to answer back. He must have been having a great day. As you can imagine, one of the questions was about Barry Bonds and his general thoughts about him.
Kent was diplomatic. He went on to say that they have a good working relationship, but added that sometimes you have to give a guy a kick in the rear end. After all, he was the only person with the stature and willingness to confront Bonds in that manner. He finished his statement by saying, "I'll let the results speak for themselves. We went to the World Series that year."
