Jeff Kent is still grappling with the lingering effects of Alex Rodriguez’s controversial play.
Recently inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame, Kent appeared on the KNBR broadcast during the Giants-Cardinals spring training game on Sunday.
One of the hosts recalled the infamous hard slide by Rodriguez into second base in 1998, which sidelined Kent for a month due to injury. Kent expressed his thoughts frankly.
“He really messed up my knee. He came sliding in hard, and that didn’t sit well with me at all,” Kent recalled, referencing the incident when he played for the Giants and Rodriguez was with the Mariners.
“We were leading the game, and he had no reason to pull that stunt.”
Kent’s competitive edge as a second baseman was evident throughout his career.
“I was ready to deliver the ball right at their heads. If they came in without ducking, well, they had to watch out,” he stated.
Before the injury struck, Kent had kicked off the season on a high note, boasting a .448 batting average, two home runs, and 13 RBIs in just eight games.
Over his 17 seasons in MLB, mainly with the Giants and Mets, Kent hit 377 home runs and recorded a .290/.356/.500 slash line. He achieved All-Star status five times and was named MVP in 2000, with an impressive batting average of .334 and 33 home runs that year.
Kent is celebrated as one of the all-time great power-hitting second basemen, holding the record for the most home runs at his position with 351.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame last December, Kent secured 14 of 16 votes in the Modern Era Committee’s decision. He will join other legends, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, for the induction ceremony in Cooperstown on July 26.
In contrast, Rodriguez, despite his prominence, only garnered 40 percent of the votes for Hall of Fame induction, far from the necessary 75 percent. His legacy is complicated by his suspension for the entire 2014 season due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.
Following the induction announcement, Kent shared that he was overwhelmed with emotion.
“When I got the call, I hugged my wife and all those feelings came rushing back. I thought about the game and how the saying goes, ‘You can’t cry in baseball.’ But, honestly, I found myself in tears as I left the field,” Kent recalled.
However, before his official induction, Kent made waves for yet another reason on Sunday.
