Anyone who saw Jeff Kent play in a Mets uniform could not possibly have seen the offensive juggernaut he has turned into. But as stunning as that turnaround has been, it’s nothing compared to what else he has transformed into.
“He’s a quiet leader for us,” said Dusty Baker, Kent’s manager on the Giants, who lost to the Mets 4-1 last night at Shea. “He’s not a real talkative guy, but he really is important for us in the clubhouse.”
“Clubhouse leader” is not something that had ever been associated with the second baseman before he landed in San Francisco.
Although he has changed the way he plays and his demeanor with his teammates, some things have remained the same. The 32-year-old might be an All-Star now and be putting up the kind of numbers that are having him compared to Hall of Famers, but Kent is still bitter about New York.
He doesn’t talk to New York reporters because they hurt his feelings during his four-plus seasons here. Now he blows off requests by not even acknowledging the person asking for it. Worse, he didn’t even glance into the stands when fans chanted his name before going 1-for-2 last night with a double and a pair of walks.
Apparently, that is merely an aberration. Other Giants, as well as his manager, have nothing but good things to say about Kent.
“He’s as professional as they come,” said J.T. Snow. “Some guys love being in the spotlight, love the attention. Jeff isn’t one of those guys.”
And while that attitude is often admired, Snow believes it may have given people the wrong idea.
“People may have taken the fact that he doesn’t say much and doesn’t like to talk to mean that he wasn’t a good guy,” Snow said. “But he’s just not interested in that kind of stuff. He doesn’t want it.”
But Baker said the unpleasantness regarding New York has a simple explanation: immaturity.
“There are a lot of distractions in New York,” Baker said. “Some people might not be ready for it. You never know the reasons for things. Maybe he just wasn’t mature enough. … Now he’s a man.”
He may be having trouble being a man with reporters, but on the field, he is the man.
“I’m glad we have Jeff,” Baker said. “At the time we got him, we didn’t expect anything like this. How could you? Then he had a great year and everyone said it was a career year. Now he’s put up another three just like it.”
If Kent keeps up the level of play he has shown the past four years, he might wind up joining Bonds in Cooperstown. He just should hope that he doesn’t need any New York writers’ votes.