What is Jeff Kent's Net Worth, Salary and Career Earnings?
Jeff Kent is a retired American professional baseball player who has a net worth of $40 million. Jeff Kent played in the MLB for such teams as the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Among his achievements, he won the NL MVP Award with the Giants in 2000, and earned four Silver Slugger Awards between 2000 and 2005. Additionally, Kent has scored the most home runs of any second baseman in MLB history. He achieved significant success during his time on the Giants playing with teammate Barry Bonds. He retired in 2008.
Career Earnings
Over the course of his professional baseball career Jeff Kent earned a total of $86 million in salary alone. He also earned several million from endorsements. His biggest annual payday came in the 2004 season when he earned $10 million from the Houston Astros.
Early Life and Education
Jeff Kent was born on March 7, 1968 in Bellflower, California. As a teen, he went to Edison High School in Huntington Beach. Although he played baseball there for a time, he was eventually booted from the team after arguing with his coach about a position change. Kent went on to play baseball at the University of California, Berkeley. In the summer of 1988, he played collegiate baseball with the Cape Cod Baseball League's Cotuit Kettleers.
Toronto Blue Jays
In the 1989 MLB draft, Kent was chosen in the 20th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent three seasons in the minor leagues before being called up to the team's opening day roster in the spring of 1992. In his debut against the Baltimore Orioles, Kent posted his first career hit, a double. Just a couple days later, he scored his first career home run against the New York Yankees.
New York Mets
Kent was traded to the New York Mets in August of 1992. He had an inconsistent tenure with the team during his four seasons through 1996. While Kent continued to do well at-bat, the Mets were unable to overcome their position as one of the worst-performing teams in the National League. Despite his own solid performance, Kent was known to be bad-tempered in the clubhouse, alienating him from the team.
Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants
In 1996, Kent was traded to the Cleveland Indians alongside José Vizcaíno. The next offseason, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants alongside Vizcaíno and Julián Tavárez. Kent subsequently had his breakout year with the Giants in 1997. Bolstered by the confident authority of manager Dusty Baker, Kent finally realized his potential by batting .250 with 29 homers and 121 RBI. Over the course of his six seasons with the Giants, he became one of the top RBI hitters in the league, recording a total of 689.
Among the other highlights of his tenure with the Giants, Kent won the National League MVP Award in 2000 for his 33 home runs, 125 RBI, and .334 batting average. He had another exceptional year in 2002 with 37 homers, 108 RBI, and a .313 batting average. With some help from that year's MVP-awardee Barry Bonds, Kent led the Giants to the National League Wild Card game. The Giants went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS to advance to their first World Series since 1989. Ultimately, they fell to the Anaheim Angels in seven games. Following this, Kent's reputation began to wane. He showed up to spring training with a broken wrist, which was caused by crashing his motorcycle while performing stunts, a breach of his contract. Moreover, Kent got into a major dugout fight with teammate Barry Bonds.
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Houston Astros
Following the departure of Giants manager Dusty Baker, Kent signed a two-year deal with the Houston Astros in 2002. During his time with the Astros in 2004, he was part of the team's first triple play in 13 years. Significantly, he also hit his 288th home run, in the process becoming the all-time home run leader among second basemen in the MLB. The Astros made it to the NLCS in 2004, ultimately losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
Los Angeles Dodgers
In December of 2004, Kent signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His first season was a solid one, as he led the team in multiple categories including batting average, runs, hits, and RBI. Although he missed many games early the following season due to an injury, Kent later returned to help the Dodgers advance to the 2006 postseason. Following his final season with the Dodgers in 2008, Kent announced his MLB retirement in early 2009.
Television Career
After retiring from baseball in 2009, Kent competed on the television sports competition program "The Superstars," finishing in fifth place with his teammate Ali Landry. A few years later, he competed on "Survivor: Philippines," the 25th season of the reality competition series "Survivor." Kent was the eighth contestant to be voted off that season, giving him the ability to vote for the winner at the Final Tribal Council.
Personal Life
With his wife Dana, Kent is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The couple has a daughter named Lauren and two sons named Hunter and Colton.
