{"id":948570,"date":"2026-07-18T04:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T04:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/948570\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T04:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T04:33:18","slug":"jeff-kent-emotional-ahead-of-entering-hall-of-fame-as-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/948570\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Kent \u2018emotional\u2019 ahead of entering Hall of Fame as Giant"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will have been almost two decades since Jeff Kent last donned a big-league uniform when he takes the stage next weekend in Cooperstown<\/a>. He\u2019s already getting emotional.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had accepted that it just wasn\u2019t going to happen,\u201d Kent said Friday morning on a conference call with reporters ahead of his induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AJeff Kent will have a Giants cap on his Hall of Fame plaque at Cooperstown. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Now, as he puts the finishing touches on the speech he\u2019ll deliver to a crowd of 10,000-plus, with 60 some of the game\u2019s greatest living legends seated behind him, it\u2019s really happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bigger emotional deal than I ever thought it was going to be,\u201d the typically surly second baseman acknowledged. \u201cI still tear up talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kent, who retired in 2008, was passed over by the Baseball Writers Association of America all 10 times he appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, never receiving more than 46.5% of the vote. <\/p>\n

His candidacy was given new life by the Contemporary Era committee, a 16-member panel that deemed his career worthy of being honored alongside Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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On July 26, the trio will become baseball\u2019s newest Hall of Famers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kent, who slugged 175 of his 377 career home runs \u2014 the most by a second baseman \u2014 in six memorable seasons in San Francisco, will go in wearing a Giants cap on his plaque.<\/p>\n

Later this summer, he will have his No. 21 retired by the Giants in a ceremony at Oracle Park.<\/p>\n

Despite his place as one of the top slugging second basemen of his era, Kent had come to terms that he would never see any of this kind of recognition. But in the 30-minute call with reporters, he had to pause multiple times as his eyes welled up with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to figure out why,\u201d Kent said of his suddenly vulnerable emotional state. \u201cIs it because of the game? Is it because I finally got in? Is it because I wasn\u2019t there and now I\u2019m in \u2014 that emotional roller coaster? Why? Why are my emotions so attached to this?\u201d<\/p>\n

One possible reason: family.<\/p>\n

Baseball, Kent said, was always something he kept separate from the rest of his life. His interests outside the game were diverse enough that he will surely be the only member of the Hall to have appeared on \u201cSurvivor\u201d (Season 25, 10th place).<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorKent will be joined by Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones as 2026 Hall of Fame inductees on July 26. John Greim\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

These days, Kent said, \u201cI\u2019m a boring guy. I chase grandkids and chase cows and ride motorcycles.\u201d<\/p>\n

He now resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Dana, with whom he raised three kids. One of them, Kaeden, followed in his father\u2019s footsteps and is a minor leaguer in the Yankees\u2019 system.<\/p>\n

But for the most part, \u201cmy personal life rarely intertwines with baseball,\u201d Kent said. \u201cExtended family, my friends, church friends \u2014 they know I\u2019m a baseball player. They watch me on TV, maybe go to a game or two. But none of them have been intimately involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next weekend, though, everyone \u2014 even Kaeden, who\u2019s in the middle of his season \u2014 will be in attendance. Kent\u2019s son is rehabbing from a finger injury, so he won\u2019t have to miss any games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be the first baseball function that I believe I\u2019ve had my entire family together,\u201d Kent said. \u201cThis is the biggest baseball function, so everybody\u2019s coming to that. I\u2019ll probably shed a tear or two for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Most of the work left to do on Kent\u2019s speech is editing it down to 10 minutes or so. He didn\u2019t divulge too much of its contents \u2014 you\u2019ll have to tune in July 26<\/a> (10:30 a.m. Pacific, MLB Network) \u2014 but what was left on the cutting room floor stirred up his most emotions during the call.<\/p>\n

There were two items Kent wore almost every day of his 17 years in the big leagues that won\u2019t be represented in Cooperstown: a mustache on his upper lip and a gold chain around his neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolly,\u201d Kent said, choking up. \u201cMy mustache was a reminder if you will of \u2013 of \u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He had to pause again to regain his composure. This was just a videoconference; imagine the emotions that will flow on stage in baseball\u2019s most hallowed grounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cS\u2013t, this is gonna be hard,\u201d Kent said, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.<\/p>\n

The mustache, he explained, was a tribute to his dad, a former police officer. The modest piece of jewelry, \u201ca dinky gold necklace,\u201d was a gift from his mom before he turned pro.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow they wear 15 necklaces and mustaches like it\u2019s nothing,\u201d Kent said, wiping back tears. \u201cIn my era, if you wore a mustache you were an idiot or they called you a porn star. I got ripped on that all the time. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI [was] the only guy in the shower with a mustache and a necklace on, and people are looking at me like I was weird. Those two things were not baseball related but just reminders of where I came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

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