Born: 3/7/1968 in Bellflower, California
Major League Career: 1992-2008
Games Played at Second Base: 2,034
Most Games Played For: San Francisco Giants
Photo via Sportress of Blogitude
Jeff Kent is the all-time career leader for home runs by a second baseman with 377. He was an All-Star five times and was named the National League MVP in 2000. He is the only second baseman to have 100 or more RBI in six consecutive seasons (1997-2002). Kent had a reputation for surliness in his playing days but here's a nice story: he played only one game at shortstop in the Majors. He did so to allow Willie Randolph to play the last game of his career at second base.
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For last year's A-Z Challenge, I featured players of the Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns organization, my favorite baseball team. I managed to cover every position on the field except for one: second baseman. As such, I decided to devote this year's challenge entirely to the second base position, honoring the individuals who earned their keep playing one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.
Head on over to Blogging from A to Z April Challenge to find others joining the adventure.
Be sure to visit my new friends:
Dads UnLimited
Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy: The Online Diary of a Central Oregon Grandmother
The Willie Randolph tale, that's a much nicer memory of Kent than the one I always remember (the time he broke his wrist doing wheelies on his motorcycle but told the team it had happened while washing his truck). Still, he's one of the best offensive second basemen of all time. I wonder if he'll get into the Hall, or if he'll be done in by the steroid era.
ReplyDeleteMinus steroids suspicion, he's in - no brainer. It is only suspicion with Kent, mind you. But his interpersonal shortcomings - and as you suggest, they are well documented - do little to help his case.
DeleteI like the Randolph story....I actually have a soft spot for the Yankees of the 70s....but don't tell anyone...
ReplyDelete