Jeff Kent

“If you want to get to know me, you have to get off the baseball field. Because when I'm on the field, and in the clubhouse, I'm doing what I'm paid to do, what I love to do, and man, I hate it when I fail.” - Jeff Kent

"Confidence and cockiness, they’re both tied into success.”    -Jeff Kent

    There’s something beautiful about every aspect of baseball. The mechanics of the pitcher’s stride, the different stages of a batter’s swing, and the fielder’s acrobatic catches. The game was developed to captivate and memorize everyone and anyone who set their eyes on the diamond-like field. Yet, the grind of the game can leave a bittersweet taste in your mouth, especially if it becomes your life. As much as baseball, especially the Major League, seems glamorous to its onlookers-- its not always pretty. That unattractive side is something that I like to call the reality of the game… And one player who’s a perfect example of the hardships of baseball is Jeff Kent. 
    From the very beginning I looked forward to writing about Kent. Not only do I consider him one of my favorite players, but I thought he would be an interesting player to write about. I didn’t expect he’d be so hard to figure out.
    For anyone who’s paid attention to Jeff Kent as a player you’d know he wasn’t always painted in the best light. He was usually portrayed as a short tempered and isolated player whom was “not always a member of the all-interview team.” (3) He gained terrible reputations in several different club houses and did so early in his baseball career. For example in 1992 with the NY Mets, his teammates played a practical joke on him which he didn’t get and reacted poorly. His attitude furthered the distance between him and his teammates; isolation himself, establishing a league wide poor reputation, and deep frustration. (3) His unpleasant club house attitude didn’t stop with the Mets. With the Giants many years later he had unmistakable tension with left fielder Barry Bonds. The tension ran so deep it went as far as the two having a shoving match during the 2002 season in the dugout. (2)
    However, whether you believed him to be an club house A-hole or not, Jeff Kent “has always made it clear that he wasn’t in baseball to make friends.” (3) Despite not being a favorite in most teams’ club houses he managed to earned the respect of his teammates (particularly with the Giants) by being a hard nose player. (3) What made him a hard nose player, aka Dirtbag, was his leadership and determination to succeed.
     Jeff was first and foremost a fierce competitor who refused to fail. Throughout his career he constantly showed how much he wanted to succeed and hated to fail. In an online article, Jeff Kent: his numbers with earn…, Jeff showed his intense competitiveness stating: "I think I take pride more in my defense than I do my offense because it's embarrassing to make errors out there. You let yourself down, you let your teammates down, and you definitely don't want to let a pitcher down. I'm not a great gifted Gold Glover, but I try to play like one." (4)
    He was determined to prove himself over the years as a player. For example in 2000 with the SF Giants, former pitcher Liven Hernandez was working on a no-hitter. With his no-hitter on the line Jeff made several “spectacular defensive plays to keep the bid alive.” (3) Although the no-hitter was broken up, Jeff’s extraordinary plays on the field wasn’t forgotten with his teammates. He showed how hard he was willing to work to help his teammates succeed and was a selfless player by playing hard in order for him fellow teammates to succeed. 
    Not only did he want to prove himself as a fielder but in the batter’s box as well. When playing for the Giants in 1997, Dodger’s pitcher Ramon Martinez nailed him on the left wrist with a fastball. Despite the pain Jeff pushed through it and played; proving he was a competitor and earning respect from his teammates. He never let injuries get in the way of his playing time. In a JockBio online Jeff was quoted saying; "some guys play not to get hurt, and they’re never really as good as they can be. That’s not the way I play.” (3) His all out attitude on the field showed how much Jeff was willing to do to play the game to his best.
    Jeff was taught at a young age by his father to respect the game. His father’s philosophy to life was to never settle for anything but your best and to do a job the right way. From the way Jeff played on the field its seems clear that his fathers words echoed throughout his sixteen year baseball career. (1) He quietly established himself in the ‘Bigs’ with his eliminate all emotions from the game attitude. While his career performance and attitude fluctuated he managed to respectfully lead his team on the field in various means.
    In an online article Jeff Kent’s former manager, Ned Colletti, described Kent as “a no-nonsense player, someone you will never see lead a talkathon, but whose 1-on-1 counsel was invaluable.” (1) His helpfulness earned him a role as leader. One approach that showed his leadership was his ability to re-channeled his frustration into positive energy on the field. For instance when Jeff played on the Mets in 1993, Jeff had committed 18 errors and struck out more times than he’d like to. He wasn’t too happy about his performance, but instead of complaining he used that frustration to heat up his bat. Jeff ended up hitting .375 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs that April. (3)
    While he played for the Giants Jeff’s performance seemed to blossom to its full potential. Despite the fact that in 1998 the Giants failed to seal the wild card spot Jeff had his most successful season. Unfortunately, in June he suffered a sprained right knee but decided to came back with full swinging. Not only did he sustain an month long injury, but he been left off the NL All-star team. This did not make Jeff happy. As a result he took his anger out on the Reds before the month ended. He nailed two homers and seven RBIs in a 12-2 defeat. (3) From that point on he was terrific and turned up the heat in the prime months of September.
    He not only displayed his leadership from re-channeling his energy on the field he used it to respect the game as well. Jeff made it clear his top priority was to respect the game. In the online article, Jeff Kent: his numbers with earn…, Jeff stated: “I'm old school and I play the game that way. I love to play the game, and everything else, I don't care much about." (4) He loved playing and respecting baseball. Specifically, in 1998 during a series versus the Expos Jeff was hit by pitcher Miguel Batista during one of his at-bats.  He considered charging the mound, but decided to “let his bat do his talking.” (3) The next at-bat after being plunked Jeff launched a drove a ball over the fences. This showed leadership and respect because he show consideration for the opposing pitching by not charging him. He showed his teammates that he was able to control his temper on the field and re-channel that negative energy into positive play.
    In addition, his newfound confidence on the field seemed to build a confidence in his club house leadership. In an online bio about Jeff’s career the site described how Jeff took the initiative to become a better leader. In 2001, he did so by requesting to have his locker moved closer to the prospects area. “His goal was to provide an example for players working their way through the organization—though he didn't see any need to socialize with them. While that put off some players, most understood that they could learn a lot simply by watching Jeff.” (3) He took the leadership role by showing the prospects how the game should be played. He didn’t need to tell them he was the leader. He simply showed them through his actions rather than words.
    All in all Jeff was a intense competitor and extraordinary leader in baseball. While he was not loved by all, he loved to play the game and play hard. He showed humility towards his talents on the field and proved himself to be one of the greatest players of the game. He was never an in your face type of player (arguably he was in the club house) nor did he play on a World Series team despite being the spark plug to many playoff runs. Nevertheless, Jeff played the game with respect and heart. To some he may always be known as a self-centered a-hole, but to me he’ll always be a hard nose player who played with passion and self-respect.


References:
(1) http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/28812158#28812158
--- http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28775286/
(2) http://thebaseballpage.com/players/kentje01
(3) http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Kent/Kent_bio.html
(4) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_9_64/ai_n15657357/  (4)


Wonderful Quotes by Jeff:
“If you allow yourself as a player to get emotionally involved in every little thing that happens, I don’t think you can stay as consistent as you ought to in this game. I wanted other people to perceive me as a guy who was level emotionally.” (1)

“Those two guys were teammates of mine and we won,” Kent said. “I had run-ins with other teammates. Was it me having a run-in with those guys or them having a run-in with me? It doesn’t matter, we were all teammates.” (1)

“I’ve learned to love and appreciate the fans and even the Jeff Kent haters out there most of all,” he said. “Those are the people who motivate you.” (1)

“I believe I’ve played this game right and I believe I’m leaving this game right,” he said. (1)

"I like to visualize my approach to the game, visualize what I'm going to do in the day. I'm a calm and peaceful player, versus an emotional player. I might show a lot of emotion out there, but inside, I really try to calm my emotions and be peaceful in my play." (4)

"I think a lot of people sometimes might misinterpret how much I care about the game because I don't like to talk about it," he said. "And that's far from the truth. I love this game with a passion."(4)

"When I leave this game, I’d rather be respected than loved.” (3)

“Whatever the situation where the game is on the line, I want the ball hit to me or the bat in my hands.” (3)

"On the diamond I’m driven by the fear and embarrassment of failure. I’m terrified I’ll let my teammates down.” (3)


Jeff Kent Statistics/Awards:
Kent had a .290 career batting average, 1,518 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage. He was drafted by Toronto in 1989. He also played for the New York Mets, Cleveland, San Francisco and Houston.

A five-time All-Star and the 2000 NL MVP.

He was an amazing second baseman career 2nd baseman home run leader with 351/377 — 74 more than Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. (1)

He won the 1998 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership.

Kent's contributions were recognized in 2000 (33 HR, 125 RBI, .334 BA, and a .986 fielding percentage) with the National League MVP Award, beating out teammate and perennial MVP candidate Barry Bonds. (2)

Despite missing 26 games in 1998, Jeff established new personal highs in hits (156), runs (94), on-base percentage (.359) and slugging (.555). (3)

In December 2000 Jeff edged Bonds for the MVP award. (3)

Kent had a good 2005 season, was the best year by a Dodger second baseman since Jackie Robinson. (2)

Kent was drafted by Toronto in 1989 and also played for the New York Mets, Cleveland, San Francisco and Houston. (1)

Bonds overshadowed Kent in almost every offensive category, it was Kent's clutch hitting in RBI spots (particularly after an intentional walk to Bonds) that won many games for the Giants that year, and ultimately won him the award. (2)