Kent Retires
Now he can spend the rest of his days in peace, washing his truck and speaking in a southern accent. Or something.
about 3 years ago
MidKnight
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Kent should go into the HOF as a Giant, right? Who makes this decision? Tough to say this—particularly given his final years as an odious Dodger—Kent was a great Giant, and a big part of their late-90’s/early 2000’s success.
Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher??
I believe the HOF decides what hat they wear.
I can’t see him going in as any other team. He played the most years here, had his peak years, got his MVP, and had the most MVP votes while as a Giant.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Didn’t the HOF take over that decision after Wade Boggs sold his hat to the Devil Rays?
"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler
I think the Hall of Fame tends to let the player decide, but they do reserve the right to make the final decision in egregious cases like Wade Boggs trying to go in as a Devil Ray.
by FluLikeSymptoms on Jan 21, 2009 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
Stealing from Wikipedia here
“In 2001, the Hall of Fame decided to change the policy on cap logo selection, given rumors that some teams were offering compensation such as number retirement, money or organizational jobs in exchange for the cap designation. (For example, though Wade Boggs denied the claims, some media reports had said that his contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays required Boggs to request depiction in the Hall of Fame as a Devil Ray).19 Although the decision-making process would be a mutual responsibility, the Hall, not the players, would have the final say in such matters”
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
I think what that all basically means is that they will allow the player to choose unless they make a stupid choice, in which case they reserve the right to over-rule them.
by FluLikeSymptoms on Jan 21, 2009 1:54 PM PST up reply actions
HoF Giant
I kind of had a hope the Giants could end the squabble and bring him back this year to end his career as a Giant and mends things with fans
MidKnight wins by 5 minutes!
Definitely HOF.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
giantdonkey comments
he MUST going to the hall as a giant, right ?
we all love jeff kent, even though he ALWAYS wanted to be a dodger ( or astro, or met, … maybe it was indian).
he’s the HOFer nobody wants to claim. damn good hitter though, and a gamer. maybe not first ballot, but a definate HOFer. i’m going to sugest some of you creative minds come up with what his speach may sound like…
" i want to thank the entire giants organization. i never wanted to leave…"
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
lincysgiants retorts
Peace
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
I don't really want him.
I’d rather see him cry when they let him in as a Dodger.
proud father of the newly acquired Brandon Crawford..
Ratto is on XM Radio right now. He is saying the Giants fans “loved Jeff kent and only the die-hard Bonds fans hated him”.
I am mumbling curses in my cubicle….well, more than I usually do.
by Lars The Wanderer on Jan 21, 2009 11:16 AM PST reply actions
W...T...F...?!?!
I’ve been trying to think of ways to express my disgust with that statement and I’ve decided there aren’t words in the english language to describe how ridiculously retarded that statement is. The fact that Ray Ratto is one of the most “respected” sports writers in the Bay Area is proof that there is no god.
"I didn't know (after seeing a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch) whether to shit or go blind." - Former Giants Outfielder Harvey Kuenn on Willie Mays
by stealth snail on Jan 21, 2009 3:35 PM PST up reply actions
HOF Giant
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
PABLO SANDOVAL AM STEAL DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.
I had expected that we’d be graced with the ‘Stache in Dodger Blue for another year or two yet. This retirement is a little unexpected. His tank wasn’t completely empty, was it?
So , DeWitt heads back over to 2B?
NL West's Company?
Off Topic by a wee bit, but the Dodgers have a Dewitt, and the Gigantes once had one Champ of a Summers. Any Ritters in San Diego’s history?
by biff pocoroba on Jan 21, 2009 11:25 AM PST up reply actions
Kent is 40. We’ve gotten used to seeing 40-year-old players still have a couple years left in the tank, but judging by Kent’s gradual late-30s decline, it makes you think he (1) is worn out and (2) was clean. Plus, if he is conscious of his HOF case (sure he is), he isn’t within reach of any major milestones, so playing on won’t make his stats look any better. As it is, he gets to stop with a .290 career batting average and .500 slugging— nice round numbers.
so long Jeff
and thanks for all the homers
Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis
What's a fanpost?
Still-proud, adoptive mama of Notgardo Alfonzo, who's back from the 50-game purgatory. He promises never to do it again. I couldn't get him to promise to hit, though. We're working on that with bribes of M&Ms, kind of like potty training.
by tk on Jan 21, 2009 2:24 PM PST up reply actions
Yep on both counts.
Now that he’s retired, Kent is no longer a Dodger. Of course, knowing Kent, it’s a lock that he’ll manage to say a few things between now and when he’s inducted into the Hall that will get Giants fans bent out of shape. I can’t even imagine what it will be. Just something to tick everyone off. That’s just how Kent rolls. I don’t care. I will choose to remember six stellar seasons, with plenty of consistent production for the orange and black. It’s too bad Kent became a Dodger. Too bad he often was an antisocial, arrogant jerk (by most accounts anyway; I never met him).
Bottom line for me: he hit lots of home runs for the San Francisco Giants. So I like him (again).
Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher??
Correction
Antagonist Bonds NOT
Who has the fun?
Is it always the man with the gun?
- The Stranglers
by victor frankenstein on Jan 21, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions
Damn, I’m kinda sad by this because I love watching Jeff Kent play baseball. Frankly, I’m not sure why people hate him. Even with him being a Dodger, he was a Giant first, and a great one at that. He always played the game hard, and the right way. He didn’t take shit from anyone, and he was pretty damn clutch too. Just a great baseball player. Could have played in any era. I just wish he hadn’t lied during the truck incident….but still seems kinda crappy that Bonds was able to do whatever he wanted and Kent got told to fuck off by the Giants after the first real difficulty with management. :(
The truck washing motorcycle jackassery incident didn’t help. Nor did the fact that he trashed the organization when he left.
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
To me..
It was the trashing of the org when he left. That means you too Matt Morris
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
I was never a big fan of Kent. He always came off as a phony baloney wanna be tuff guy. I wanted to like him after I found out that he gave tons of money to support women’s sports. Then he started the griping about the “french vanilla” uniforms, and dissing the organization, and the bay area in general – at that point he could DIAFMC
I could never bring myself to hate Bill Mueller for that sin. Helps that he didn’t stay healthy and so didn’t play much.
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
also
it helps that mueller just wasn’t any good. ( other than slapping balls of the green monstrocity)
Hey.
Give me ‘96-’99 of him as a #2 hitter for minor league minimum (or near it) and he’s a great player. .380 OBP and a slap hitter in the #2 hole is great.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
They are about to show Kent’s retirement press conference on MLB Network
by Lars The Wanderer on Jan 21, 2009 4:57 PM PST reply actions
The pies are ready.
Who has the fun?
Is it always the man with the gun?
- The Stranglers
by victor frankenstein on Jan 21, 2009 5:15 PM PST up reply actions
I hardly ever post here, but some of the comments about Kent from this site or from KNBR always stuck me a little odd.
He produced. Flat out. He lied about the truck and he always wanted to be a Dodger but he never made any excuses for his play and he was always someone to watch as a prime example on how to play ball. I realize that the Bonds interview for SI rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way and I booed him the same as anyone when he was playing for LA but I met him as a 13 year old kid, one year at fan fest. He treated me more than a fan, he treated me like a human being.
For a young kid playing baseball and watching the Giants more than most my age, that was amazing. I wont try and drum up some idea that I knew him personally or he changed my life, but I idolized him at the time. I’m sure he knew that right away and he could have signed my baseball and got on with the massive headache that is an autograph line, but he was a stand up guy and actually seemed interested in my fanboy gushings.
He wasn’t perfect. But he was a good Giant.
Something sort of funny/sarcastic about the Giants here.
Kent and Bonds
One thing that used to be said of Kent was that he was only good because Barry Bonds was batting next to him in the lineup. The truth is, there’s no evidence that I can find that supports this claim. At least it doesn’t appear that way to me when you compare Kent’s hitting as a Giant when Bonds was in the lineup, to his hitting as a Giant when Bonds was not with him in the lineup.
Here’s a breakdown:
Kent, with Barry
2961 AB
874 H
211 2B
18 3B
151 HR
.295 AVG
.368 OBP
.532 SLG
.900 OPS
Kent, w/o Barry
473 AB
147 H
36 2B
4 3B
24 HR
.311 AVG
.367 OBP
.554 SLG
.921 OPS
Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher??
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