Kent bids farewell as a player

Kent bids farewell as a player
January 22nd, 2009
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Fighting the emotions caused by putting an end to a 17-year Major League career, Jeff Kent recalled an important lesson he learned during those years.

"About 20 years ago, I started as a college player, probably a guy who was a fringe player," Kent said as he announced his retirement on Thursday. "For the kids who want to be a baseball player someday, there's a chance that you can play this great game. If you're not the biggest guy, if you're not the fastest guy, even if you're not the smartest guy, you can still play this game."

Kent, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, ended up the all-time leading home run hitter among second basemen with 351, 74 more than the next closest second baseman, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

On Thursday at Dodger Stadium, a tearful Kent paused frequently while he spoke, discussing his relationship with fans, his back-and-forth with the media, and his long career -- which began with the Blue Jays in 1992 and included stops with the Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros and Dodgers.

The emotions began to show as he tried to watch a video reel of his career set to music. Before he spoke, Dodgers vice president of communications Josh Rawitch read congratulatory messages sent by the Mets, Giants and Astros.

Kent retired with a .290 career batting average, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage.

"We close a great chapter today on a great baseball player who finds himself to be the best offensive second baseman in the history of baseball," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.

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.

Last year, Kent became the first 40-year-old in Dodgers history to go into a season as a starting position player. After batting .253 during the first half of the season with little protection in the lineup, he enjoyed a resurgence when Manny Ramirez was added to the lineup. Kent caught fire to hit .353 in August, only to injure his knee Aug. 29 and undergo surgery Sept. 2.

While the Dodgers were overtaking the Diamondbacks to win the NL West, Kent rushed back in time to make the postseason roster and let it be known he felt ready to play. But he was relegated to a bench role during both playoff series and went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts. He finished the regular season hitting .280 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs in 121 games.

Following the 2008 season, Kent was eligible for free agency and Dodgers management, anticipating his retirement, moved Blake DeWitt to second base after re-signing Casey Blake. DeWitt had replaced Kent at the position after the surgery.

Kent's best season with the Dodgers was 2005, when he hit 29 homers with 105 RBIs and 100 runs scored and made his only All-Star appearance for the club, the first Dodger to start an All-Star game at second base since Steve Sax in 1983.

The son of a policeman, Kent grew up in Southern California, was a walk-on shortstop at the University of California at Berkeley and began his professional career after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989.

He also played for the Mets, Indians, Giants and Astros, enjoying his greatest success when matched with antagonist Barry Bonds in the Giants' lineup. With San Francisco in 2002, Kent made his only World Series appearance, hitting three home runs while the Giants lost to the Angels in seven games.

Early in his career, Kent developed a reputation for his work ethic and no-nonsense commitment to winning, although he received at least as much media attention for his intolerance of teammates who didn't share his intense approach. He had run-ins with Bonds, as well as Dodgers teammate Milton Bradley.

In 2007, he aired his frustration to reporters after the Dodgers had fallen out of the division race and the resulting dust-up fueled stories about a clubhouse divide between old and young players that hastened the departure of manager Grady Little.

In recent years, Kent has been critical of players who used performance-enchancing drugs, while advocating more widespread testing to ensure a level playing field.

Kent, who makes his offseason home in Austin, Tex., is married with four children, the oldest age 12 and the youngest 5. He has increasingly expressed interest in spending more time at home with his family. He also runs Kent Powersports, owner of Yamaha of San Antonio.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Dodger Camp - November 2008 - The Last One

Editor's note:
November 2008 saw the end of Dodger Adult Baseball Camp at Vero Beach as we know it. This link will show you pictures one recent camper took, as well as bid farewell to history and to a time and place when we were all young (er).



These are some pictures from the last Dodger Adult Baseball Camp at Vero Beach. This is more about the place, rather than the campers. Click on the picture to see a larger images. I hope you enjoy this passing piece of history.

From Andy Zicklin - November 2008

The Race Between the Tortoise and the Porsche

Blabber From the Blogger

As a frequent reader you may have noticed the postings here have become more and more historical rather than a reflection of current events or personalities. Perhaps that is because there is less Glory in Baseball these days; or perhaps that has become my perspective. Lately postings have become more a re-publishing of another's work, with credits, rather than original material. Again this may be a reflection of the times.

For years I've felt that free agency was best for baseball and I've lambasted the football gods for their lack of vision and adherence to the pay for performance and the non-guaranteed aspect of their game. My god, if any sport should have guaranteed contracts, football should be it.

But the recent flurry of baseball free agent signings has forced me to reconsider my long-standing, free-agency-is-best, democratic attitude. The baseball version of the familiar contest has become the race between the tortoise and the Porsche. Will the spread between the speedy and the slow continue to grow? I yearn for the days when more teams had an equal chance to win the World Series, where as today we always see the usual suspects, with an occasional exception.

My love for the game has not diminished. It is my love for today's game that has, and you may feel the same. I will leave it to others to determine how to fix it, but we first must agree that it's required. That is the real stumbling block.

The one thing I fear is that one day we will look back to today and call it the "The Glory of Baseball." It is not.

Shy Smile. Mean Fastball.

Max Schulte for The New York Times
Katie Brownell, 11 years old and 5-foot-8,
threw a perfect game on Saturday in

Little League action in Oakfield, N.Y.

From the New York Times

May 19, 2005

By THOMAS J. LUECK and BEN BEAGLE

As the only girl in her upstate Little League, 11-year-old Katie Brownell had already made her mark. An all-star since she was 9, Katie plays hardball better than almost any boy her age in Oakfield, Alabama, Elba and Pembroke, her home turf of farm towns between Rochester and Buffalo.

But nobody expected what happened on Saturday. Katie pitched a perfect game.

"She's very bashful, but very talented," said Jeff Sage, a Rochester firefighter and the manager of Katie's team, the Dodgers. Her pitching on Saturday mowed down the opposing Yankees in an 11-0 shutout before a stunned crowd of about 100 parents and friends in the bleachers of the Oakfield Town Park.

"I can't imagine being a boy that has to face her at the plate," said Eric Klotzbach, an engineer and the president of Katie's seven-team league in Genesee County. "It has got be a shot to the ego."

News of Katie's achievement, lacking some of the urgency of a major-league feat, was first spread yesterday morning in an article on the front page of the sports section of the closest daily newspaper, The Daily News of Batavia. But by afternoon, when she returned home from her sixth-grade classes, Katie was in an unexpected - and unsought - spotlight.

"She had no idea," said Denise Bischoff, Katie's mother, who began taking phone calls about 1:30 p.m. from the "Today" show, Buffalo television stations and New York City newspapers.

Katie, whose prowess on the pitcher's mound has yet to extend to the press box, offered an easy smile but only terse and quiet responses in a short interview, often deferring to her mother. Ms. Bischoff said Katie turned "beet red" when she got on the telephone with a producer for "Today," which eventually decided not to present a segment on the perfect game, apparently because videotape of Katie's pitching was not available.

It was all a little dizzying for Oakfield, a community of about 3,200 with one traffic light in the center of town and three verdant baseball diamonds in the town park, with bright red sand around the bases and a small electronic scoreboard provided by the local Pepsi distributor.
"This is nothing we ever expected would happen," Ms. Bischoff said.

It is still, after all, the Little League, where players at widely varying stages of physical development are sometimes poorly matched. Katie, at 5-foot-8, is taller than any boy on her team.

But her performance Saturday was rare. Her perfect game was even more perfect than the common definition of the term, which refers to a pitching performance in which every batter is turned back, either by striking out or hitting a ball that results in an out.

Katie made it simpler: She struck out everybody, yielding no more than two balls to any batter.
"I can't remember this ever happening," said Mr. Sage, who was on duty with his Rochester fire company and missed Saturday's game, but said he received several phone calls from excited relatives as soon as Katie struck out the final batter in the six-inning game.

He said players on other teams in the league might find it unnerving to be overpowered by a girl on the pitcher's mound, but that Katie's teammates "think it is great that she's on our side."
Katie, whose full name is Katelyn, is in her third season playing hardball in the Little League. She decided at the last minute not to switch this summer to a girls softball team in the same league.

"We're glad she stayed with us," Mr. Sage said.

Little League pitcher Katie Brownell donates

her jersey to Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey.

Brownell, the only girl in her league,

threw a perfect game, striking out every batter.

(Dan Holmes)

Even before the game on Saturday, which was her team's third outing this year, Katie demonstrated striking abilities on the mound, relying almost entirely on a fastball that she can "place just about where she wants," Mr. Sage said. In the season's first game, she allowed only one hit and struck out 14 batters in five innings.

She is also a major threat at the plate, with a batting average of .714 after three games.
Ms. Bischoff said her daughter had been an avid baseball player since she was about 6, and learned the game from two older brothers. But she said Katie's first year as the only girl in the Little League was trying, and her teammates sometimes told her she should play softball with the other girls.

"She is very competitive," Ms. Bischoff said. "She has proven herself, and now baseball is fun."

Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)

Los Angeles's Wrigley Field (Ballparks.com)

by Jim Gordon

Sabr Bio Project

Los Angeles's Wrigley Field in was built and opened in 1925 as the finest minor league park in the country. Some called it the best park in the country--majors or minors. From its earliest years Wrigley Field was home to multiple baseball teams, many other sports and community events. The history of Wrigley Field is rich and intermingles with the history of its city. It played host to the fiercest rivalry in minor league baseball between the Pacific Coast League (PCL) Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars. After more than 32 years of PCL baseball, Wrigley closed its professional baseball doors for three years in 1958, before being reborn for the 1961 American League season as the home of the American League's new Los Angeles Angels.

Read the entire story at Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)