ORLANDO, Fla. -- A little over a month after he became the new general manager of the Giants, Brian Sabean pulled off a trade that made him Public Enemy No. 1 in San Francisco.
On Nov. 13, 1996, Sabean dealt All-Star third baseman Matt Williams and a player to be named later (outfielder Trent Hubbard) to Cleveland in exchange for second baseman Jeff Kent, shortstop Jose Vizcaino, right-hander Julian Tavarez and a player to be named later (right-hander Joe Roa).
The move drew instant condemnation from Giants fans, prompting Sabean to call an informal press conference to defend the move.
"All of sudden, I went from being the guy who is going to help the club to being an idiot," Sabean said at the time. "Well, I'm not an idiot."
Sabean, of course, was validated after Kent blossomed into the best offensive second baseman in Major League history, a legacy that was further cemented when the former Giants star was finally elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Sunday.
"Some of you guys may know the inside joke,” Kent said during his Hall of Fame press conference at the Signia by Hilton resort on Monday at the Winter Meetings. “Brian Sabean was not an idiot.”
Kent played for six different clubs over his 17-year career in the Majors, but he delivered his most prolific stretch during his stint with the Giants (1997-2002) that saw him join with Barry Bonds to form the team’s best 1-2 punch since the Willie Mays-Willie McCovey era.
"That was the turning point in my career,” Kent said. “When I got to San Francisco, Dusty Baker lit a fire under me to be better. Not to achieve the normal standard, but achieve more. Dusty was a guy that really understood how to get the best out of his players, and I think he knew that I had more to give.”
Kent hit .297/.368/.535 and averaged 29 home runs and 115 RBIs per season over his six years in San Francisco, helping the Giants jump from last place in the National League West in 1996 to a division title in '97. The Cal alum earned three straight All-Star nods from 1999-2001 and edged Bonds for the NL MVP Award in 2000, when he hit .334/.424/.596 with 33 homers and 125 RBIs, all career bests. Kent crushed 351 of his 377 career home runs as a second baseman, making him the all-time leader at the position.
"He was one of my favorite players that I got to watch growing up just because of how hard he played the game,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said. “He wasn’t trying to be your friend. I’m extremely excited for him and his family and all the work that he put in for all those years. The emotion most definitely came through up there for him. You can tell just how much it meant to him. I’m thrilled for him and his family.”
While Kent is officially bound for Cooperstown, Bonds remains locked out of the Hall of Fame due to his ties to performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds received fewer than five votes from the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Sunday, meaning he won’t be eligible to be considered by the committee again until 2031.
Does Kent believe Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame?
"I’ve always avoided the specific answer you’re looking for because I don’t have one,” Kent said. “I’m not a voter, but I can say he was a teammate that helped me. I believe I helped him. I believe he was one of the best baseball players I ever saw. If you’re talking about moral code and all that, I’m not a voter. I’m trying to stay away from all that the best I can because I really don’t have an opinion. I’ve left it. It doesn’t matter to me anymore.
"I know he’s been argued amongst a lot of baseball elites, if he ought to be in or not. Keep having that argument. You argue through it, and if he’s not, he's not, and if he is, he is. It’s not going to matter to me one way or the other.”
Kent will be inducted alongside any BBWAA selections on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y. He probably won’t be the only Giant heading to the Hall of Fame in the near future, as Posey, Baker and Bruce Bochy could have a chance to go in together in 2027.
"You’re lying if you don’t somewhat think about it, but I usually try to push it to the side real quick because I’ve got a lot of other things to think about,” Posey said. “No doubt it’d be an unbelievable honor. I’m kind of happy that I have this job so I can focus on this. I have four children at home, too. Like I said, it’d be an unbelievable honor. I’ve got to focus on '26.”