Ranking The Top 10 Giants Of All-Time: Position-by-Position
By zacklosel
# 6 – 2nd Base – Jeff Kent
Career: .290 AVG / 377 HR / 1518 RBI / 2461 H
Accolades:
4-Time Silver Slugger.
5-Time All-Star.
2000 National League Most Valuable Player.
Most home runs by a second baseman (377).
Only playing in thirty nine games for the Indians, Jeff Kent was traded in a rush to San Francisco from Cleveland for fan-favorite Matt Williams prior to the 1997 season. Quickly proving the naysayers wrong, however, he began his impressive six season career in San Francisco by delivering one strong season after the next, from 1997-2002.
In his first season with the Giants, he did nothing but impress; he hit .250, while blasting 29 home runs, and driving in 121.
But it didn’t stop there. Each season, he got better, and eventually he captured his first (and only) MVP title following the 2000 season.
Known for being less than a stellar personality (and that’s putting it lightly) in the clubhouse, however, Kent more than made up for the fact by consistently delivering strong numbers, primarily hitting behind Bonds.
Another Giants legend, Kent secured his spot in Giants and Major League history when he passed Ryne Sandberg on October 2nd, 2004, to become the all-time home run leader at second base when he hit his two hundred seventy eighth career long-ball.