Kent Calls It Quits

Various media outlets are reporting that Jeff Kent has decided to retire despite claims from his agent that several teams inquired about his services for the upcoming season.

The 40-year-old Kent will retire with a resume worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. His 351 home runs hit as a second baseman are 74 more than the next closest second baseman, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

The 2000 National League MVP, Kent was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger. He drove in more than 100 runs eight times (a record at the position), scored at least 100 runs three times and had at least 20 home runs 12 times. In 2008, he passed Ralph Kiner, Gil Hodges and Carlton Fisk on the all-time home-run list and passed Billy Williams, Dave Parker and Mickey Mantle on the all-time RBIs list. He's tied with Eddie Murray for 20th on the all-time doubles list with 560.

Kent took a long time to make a decision so one would have to believe he's pretty committed to walking away. I don't see him pulling a Roger Clemens and signing with a contending team in mid June. Regardless of personal opinions on the guy, he provided the Dodgers with their biggest offensive threat during the seasons he roamed the Ravine. Take a look at the stats I have pulled from a recent post from True Blue LA.

2005 - 2008

Games
1) Jeff Kent, 521
2) Russell Martin, 427
3) Andre Ethier, 420
4) Rafael Furcal, 333
5t) Matt Kemp, 305
5t) James Loney, 305

Runs
1) Jeff Kent, 281
2) Russell Martin, 239
3) Rafael Furcal, 234
4) Andre Ethier, 190
5) Matt Kemp, 170

RBI
1) Jeff Kent, 311
2) Russell Martin, 221
3) Andre Ethier, 196
4) Nomar Garciaparra, 180
5) James Loney, 175

Batting Average (min 1,000 PA)
1) James Loney, .303
2) Matt Kemp, .2994
3) Andre Ethier, .2990
4) Rafael Furcal, .293
5) Jeff Kent, .291

On-Base Percentage (min 1,000 PA)
1) Russell Martin, .373
2) Jeff Kent, .367
3) Andre Ethier, .364
4) Rafael Furcal, .362
5) James Loney, .353

Slugging Percentage (min 1,000 PA)
1) Andre Ethier, .482
2) James Loney, .480
3) Jeff Kent, .479
4) Matt Kemp, .474
5) Nomar Garciaparra, .445

OPS+ (min 1,000 PA)
1) Jeff Kent, 118
2) Andre Ethier, 116
3) James Loney, 114
4) Matt Kemp, 109
5) Russell Martin, 108

Enjoy the family, the ranch, the motorcycles and the rest. Congratulations on a Hall of Fame career.