Welcome back, Jeff Kent. All is forgiven.
That was the widespread sentiment Saturday among fans who helped celebrate Kent's induction into the Giants' Wall of Fame, a distinction reserved for the most accomplished and longest-tenured performers in San Francisco history.
Not a boo was heard from the 500 or so fans attending the afternoon ceremony in which the plaque honoring Kent was unveiled on AT&T Park's King Street wall, joining the 43 others representing last year's charter class of inductees.
Maybe a handful of fans hooted at Kent when he took a bow for the AT&T Park crowd in the middle of the second inning. But any catcalls were drowned out by the standing ovation he received from the packed house, which also was treated to a video tribute featuring Kent's exploits as a Giant. Kent returned the salute by waving and tipping his cap -- a Giants cap, naturally.
Odds are, at least some of these spectators booed Kent when he returned to San Francisco following his 2002 departure from the Giants. The volume of verbal abuse, particularly when he moved from the Houston Astros to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005, was almost deafening at times.
But Kent probably guaranteed that he'll be cheered forever by Giants fans as he professed his undying love for the club he played with for six years, the most time he spent with any of the six teams that employed him.
"The only place I ever cared about and gave my heart to was San Francisco," said Kent, whose 351 home runs and 1,389 RBIs as a second baseman rank first in Major League history.
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090829&content_id=6688370&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sfJeff Kent's demeanor off the field made him one of those guys who made it tough for you to genuinely like him. On the field though he was one of the greatest second baseman of all time, a sure fire Hall of Famer, in which he says he'll go in as a Giant, and as Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper pointed out, the heart and soul of those great Giants teams.