Jeff Kent
Updated: Wikipedia source
Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is an American former second baseman who played for 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2008. He played for six teams in his career, becoming best known for his six seasons with the San Francisco Giants from 1997 to 2002. A five-time All-Star, he was one of the top power-hitting second basemen in major league history, with twelve seasons of 20 or more home runs and eight seasons with over 100 runs batted in (RBI). After several seasons of modest success for three teams, often being shifted to third base, Kent enjoyed a surge in productivity at age 29 after being traded to the Giants. He led the team in RBI every year from 1997 to 2000, settling into the cleanup spot in the lineup behind Barry Bonds and helping the team win a division title in 1997 by driving in 121 runs. The following year, he hit 30 home runs for the first time and raised his RBI total to 128, and in 1999, he became the seventh San Francisco player to hit for the cycle. He was named the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player in 2000 after leading the team to the best record in the major leagues, batting .334 with 33 home runs, 125 RBI and a career-high 114 runs scored. In 2001, he set a Giants franchise record by hitting 49 doubles, and in 2002, he batted .313 with a career-high 37 home runs as the team captured its first NL pennant in 13 years. Joining the Houston Astros as a free agent, he helped them reach the 2004 playoffs, leading the club with 107 RBI. He retired after four seasons spent with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. Kent's 351 home runs as a second baseman are a major league record, and his career .500 slugging percentage is the second highest at the position, behind only Rogers Hornsby. His 540 doubles in the NL were tied for tenth in league history when he retired, with his career total of 560 being the fourth-most by a second baseman; he also ranked third among second basemen in RBI (1,518) and extra-base hits (984), and sixth in total bases (4,246). His 2,008 games at second base in the NL were third-most in league history when he retired, and he ranked eighth in league history in putouts (3,981), sixth in assists (5,508), and fourth in double plays (1,258). In 2026, Kent will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.