Giants' Jeff Kent Has A Burning Passion for Success.(San Francisco Giants second baseman)

Winner of the National League's MVP Award in 2000 thrives on his preparedness for each at-bat

RUNNERS ON BASE. GAME HANGING in the balance. Tension so thick it clogs the arteries of the weak-hearted. And yet, there stands Jeff Kent at home plate--not with apprehension on his face but with that same quizzical look he might give a puff of smoke rising from a microwave. To Kent, this nail-biting moment is no different than trying to fix a sputtering home appliance.

"I always like to figure things out," says Kent, the Giants' National League 2000 Most Valuable Player Award winner. "It's like when a toaster oven blows up at home. I want to take the thing apart and try to fix it. Of course, I don't know anything about toaster ovens. It doesn't matter: I'm a problem-solver. That's just me.

"It's the same thing when I walk up to the plate with runners on base. I'm trying to solve this problem: How do I get those runners home? What do I need to do? I love trying to figure out those situations."

Kent treats baseball like a Rubik's Cube; he is always trying to solve the puzzle. Since he joined the Giants in 1997, he has been a mastermind. Kent has become so proficient as an offensive player that you have to go all the way back to the 1920s to find a second baseman to to match his power and run production.

This is how high Kent, 32, has climbed in eight seasons: His name is mentioned in the same sentence with former Giant and Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, and no one thinks it's ludicrous.

"I know I am around a special player going through a very special time," says Giants hitting coach Gene Clines "This is magical. I know I may never see anything like this ever again."