SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants will retire Jeff Kent's No. 21 on Saturday at Oracle Park, between games of a day-night doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks. MLB.com listed the ceremony as a Hall of Fame celebration, with a replica induction ring for the first 21,000 fans.
Field Level Media reported via CBS Sports that a rainout forced a makeup Monday in Atlanta, so Sunday's series finale was moved into Saturday. The ceremony had been scheduled before a single Saturday game. It now leads into the nightcap.
Arizona won 10-6 on Friday and is 9-2 against the Giants this season, sitting a half-game behind San Diego for the third NL wild-card spot, the Associated Press reported. ESPN listed Arizona at 72-64 and San Francisco at 55-80.
Six seasons that earned the number
Kent arrived in the 1996 trade that sent Matt Williams to Cleveland. Over six Giants seasons he hit .297/.368/.535 and averaged 29 home runs and 115 RBIs, MLB.com reported. He made the All-Star team from 1999 through 2001 and won the 2000 NL MVP over teammate Barry Bonds, batting .334/.424/.596 with 33 home runs, 125 RBIs, and 7.2 WAR.
He played 900 games in San Francisco and hit 175 of his 377 home runs there, Field Level Media reported. MLB.com has 351 of those 377 as a second baseman, the most at the position. The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee elected him to the Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
He becomes the 14th Giant honored with a number retirement. Among the San Francisco-era numbers already down are Will Clark's 22, Willie Mays' 24, Barry Bonds' 25, and Willie McCovey's 44.
Second base, then the nightcap
Neither club has a settled second baseman. Field Level Media reported that Ketel Marte went on the 10-day injured list last week with left knee inflammation and is eligible for reinstatement Monday. Ildemaro Vargas has started since, going 6-for-43 (.140) with five RBIs in 11 games, including a two-run single Friday. Manager Torey Lovullo said, "Very engaged player. Plays with energy." He added that Vargas "is looked at as somebody that is leading the charge emotionally." The same report said Vargas is likely the only player active Saturday who was in professional baseball the year Kent retired, in the Venezuelan Summer League.
