‘San Francisco is home’: Jeff Kent inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame

SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff Kent’s father made him a simple bet.

As Kent stood on the dais at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, he recalled his days of racing motorcycles and driving his grandparents’ Plymouth Volare as a 16-year-old. Alan Kent, Jeff’s father, knew his son’s future wasn’t in motorcycles. So, Alan made a wager: If Jeff earned a college scholarship, he would buy his son a pick-up truck.

“That’s about all we could afford extra at that time in my life, and that truck meant everything to me. So, I quit racing and focused on school and baseball and won that baseball scholarship because I got that truck. That truck is still with me. It sits in my garage as a reminder that some of the simplest things …”

Kent paused and chuckled to collect himself.

“The simplest things can change the entire direction of your life.”

It was a bet that landed Kent a scholarship to Cal — and a 1985 Toyota 4×4 pickup truck. It was a bet that paved the way for Kent to be enshrined in Cooperstown on Sunday, the sixth Giant to go into the Hall of Fame since the team moved to San Francisco.

“When my wife and I had a chance to visit the Hall of Fame Museum just a few months ago, I finally realized the weight that this game carries,” Kent said. “The halls are filled with stories that you can’t experience anywhere else, and to know I get to be a part of that history standing alongside the legends I grew up watching — I’ve used the word, and I still don’t understand it, but overwhelming doesn’t even begin to describe it.

“This day isn’t about me, though. This day is about baseball. It’s a celebration of baseball, and I just happen to be a part of it. Baseball was here long before me. It’s going to be [here] long after I sit back down. But standing up here with these guys sitting behind me, I’ve never felt more humbled and more grateful in my entire life.”

Kent, one of three players inducted on Sunday along with former Giant Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, dedicated time during his speech to discussing his experiences with the Blue Jays, Mets, Astros and Dodgers. He remembered Dave Winfield taking him under his wing in Toronto; Eddie Murphy dishing out advice in New York; and Tommy Lasorda saying, “The money lies in the RBIs,” in Los Angeles.

For all the memories he made in those cities, Kent spent the most time reminiscing about his years in the Bay Area.

“San Francisco is home,” Kent said. “San Francisco is where every lesson I learned came together. Brian Sabean, the general manager there, deserves a lot of credit for trading for me and bringing in a whole new core of players like J.T. Snow, José Vizcáino, Kirk Reuter and Bill Miller. … He mixed us in with Barry Bonds, one of the most talented players the game has ever seen, and we were destined for success.”

Kent had been a fine player before joining the Giants in a controversial trade that sent Matt Williams to Cleveland, but San Francisco is where Kent placed himself on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

Over seven seasons with the Giants, Kent hit .297 with 175 home runs and 689 RBIs, earning three All-Star selections, three Silver Slugger Awards and the 2000 NL MVP. By the end of his career, which ended with the Dodgers, Kent owned the record for most home runs hit by a primary second baseman (377). Next month, the Giants will retire Kent’s No. 21.

Kent played every season in San Francisco under Dusty Baker, who could be part of next year’s Hall of Fame class. Kent has credited Baker for his success on numerous occasions since being elected, and he made sure to acknowledge his former manager during his speech.

“The team wasn’t complete without the leader, and I had the best one there was: Dusty Baker,” Kent said with Baker in attendance. “He was the right man at the right time for me. I’m naturally a [glass] half-empty guy; I see what’s broken and I want to fix it. That’s probably what drew me to this game. But looking back, I think I complicated the game a lot more than it needed to be. Dusty was the opposite.

“Dusty didn’t complicate the game; he respected it. I could feel his passion in winning in everything he did. Even those toothpicks he used to chew out.”