Jeff Kent: his numbers will earn him hall of fame consideration: All-Star slugger holds the record for career home runs among second basemen and is one of the best run producers of his era.

DURING HIS 14-YEAR MAJOR league career with six teams, Jeff Kent has quietly established himself as one of the best hitting second basemen in big league history.

He is the only player to have hit more than 300 career home runs as a second baseman, and he has hit 20 or more homers and knocked in more than 90 runs in every season since 1997. No second baseman other than Kent has hit 20 or more home runs in nine consecutive seasons, a streak that is ongoing. A five-time All-Star, Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2000 and has finished in the N.L.'s top 10 in MVP voting in three other seasons.

In December 2004, Kent signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent after two standout seasons with the Houston Astros. Kent enjoyed another exceptional offensive campaign in 2005. Through August 28, the 6-1, 210 pound. Kent had played in 122 of the team's 130 games, while batting .290, hitting 23 home runs, and knocking in 84 runs.

This year, Kent has batted in three or more runs in eight different games, including four runs each in consecutive games on June 5 and 6.

Kent also started at second base for the 2005 National League All-Star team.

His most productive offensive seasons were as a member of the San Francisco Giants. In three different years, while batting behind Barry Bonds in the Giants' lineup, Kent hit more than 30 home runs and batted in more than 100 runs. In his MVP year, he collected 196 hits, clubbed 33 home runs, and had 125 RBI while batting a career high .334.

A right-handed batter, Kent was also a key member of San Francisco's 2002 World Series team, when the Giants lost to the Anaheim Angels. He had eight hits in that World Series, including three home runs, and seven RBI. "It was such a great team, a good group of guys," he said. "Being able to get to the seventh game of the World Series was the pinnacle of my career.