With the Hall of Fame’s classic cream-colored jersey and a matching cap on, Jeff Kent looked out into the crowd at the Winter Meetings and asked Buster Posey, the Giants’ president of baseball operations, if he’d be allowed to wear a different hat as a potential guest instructor at spring training.
“Posey, can I wear a Yankees hat at spring training?” asked the former second baseman, who starred for San Francisco from 1997-2002 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Dec. 7.
The former MVP made the humorous inquiry because his son, Kaeden, is now a pinstriped prospect. The Yankees drafted the younger Kent out of Texas A&M in the third round of this year’s draft. The 22-year-old shortstop, who has also played second and third base, hit .186 with two home runs and 17 RBI for High-A Hudson Valley in his introduction to pro ball.
Asked for a scouting report on his kid, Jeff quickly replied, “He can’t be as good as me.” He then seized an opportunity to reset the bar of expectations for Kaeden.
“He always thought he could be better than me because he’s always said, ‘Dad, you’re not in the Hall of Fame,’” said Jeff, who earned election via the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. “So after [the Hall of Fame] call, I hugged him and said, ‘Good luck.’”
As for that scouting report, Jeff said that he’s always stressed the importance of going the other way at the plate — something he “failed at early in my career” — to his son. Jeff, whose 377 home runs are the most ever from someone who played at least two-thirds of their games at second base, did not want Kaeden to hit for power growing up, even if that hurt his standing as an amateur prospect.
Kaeden, considered the 12th-best prospect in the Yankees’ system by MLB.com, totaled just five home runs over his first two seasons at Texas A&M before crushing 13 this year.
“One of the knocks that he had before he got drafted by the Yankees, he didn’t have a lot of power,” Jeff said. “And he was talked about out of high school, too, a lot of doubles, but no power. I was in the background trying not to be his agent — I was saying, ‘There’s a reason he doesn’t have power. Trust me, trust me. He’ll have power.’ But the other thing is he can go the other way, go with the ball. He’s a little stubborn right now because he wants to be a big leaguer because he’s with the Yankees.
“That would be the scouting report. He can take the ball, keep his hands inside the ball, and go to all fields. And he’s not intimidated. He’s got a little prick [to him] like me, but he’s a lot like his mother sitting right here, too. So there’s some good in him, not just all the bad.”
During a recent appearance on the YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove,” Kaeden called his father’s scouting report “accurate,” including the part about him being stubborn.
Asked about previously poking fun at his dad for not being in Cooperstown, Kaeden added that he will have to brainstorm new ways to take shots at him. He seems to enjoy busting his father’s chops, as he’s already joked that he won’t be attending Jeff’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 26, as he’ll be busy playing for one of the Yankees’ affiliates.
In all seriousness, Kaeden is hoping to get the day off.
“That’s super special,” he said, “and I can’t say how proud I am of him.”
With Kaeden now following in Hall of Fame footsteps, he didn’t want to put a timeline on when he may make his major league debut. That’s still years away, so Kaeden would rather focus on the present.
“You can’t really think too far ahead in this game, cause it will bite you in the butt,” he said. “You can’t be wishing for something far away.
“Hopefully, if I keep stacking those days, then it’ll all pay off for me in the future.”
