I Got Here First

In the wake of Jeff Kent's retirement, there has been a lot of local chatter about him. Yesterday JT Snow was on with Tom and Ralph and told a wonderful story about Kent when he first came to the Giants.

In 1996 Kent was traded from the Mets to the Indians. He never quite fit in at either place, and he felt he wasn't getting his full opportunity with the Indians. He played in 128 games that season with only 437 at bats.

JT was playing that season for the Angels, where he won his second consecutive Gold Glove. Kent spoke to him about his frustration (who knows - might have been one of those conversations at first base), and he asked JT to put in a good word for him with the Angels' organization. They may well have known each other in college - they are the same age and they both played in the Pac 10 (Snow with Arizona, Kent with Cal). JT said he'd do it.

Ironically, in the off-season they both got traded to the Giants, and the team was set for their eventual run to the 2002 World Series 6 years later.

That's not the story. That's just the setup. The story was early in the season in 1997 a group of guys including Barry made up to go to a bar after a game. One of the guys with a van was going to drive. When JT got to the van he piled into the back with another young Giant. Kent was sitting shotgun. Barry came up to the van and told Kent to get out of his seat. Kent said "no," he had gotten there first. Barry said to stop kidding around and to get the hell out of his seat. Kent refused. Sure enough, when the van took off, Barry was sitting in the back seat.

That is a true Jeff Kent story. Cocky guy, heckova player.

Story Addendum: Here are the trades that got Kent and Snow to the Giants.

Kent came in the famous Matt Williams deal. The Giants sent Williams and Trenidad Hubbard to Cleveland for Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Joe Roa and the beloved Julian Tavarez.

Snow was traded by the Angels to the Giants for Allen Watson and Fausto Macey. Great name, Fausto. I'll put that in my pet name list, but it will be behind "Snidely."