LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jeff Kent plans to announce his retirement from baseball on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Kent spent 17 years in the major leagues and leaves as the career home-run leader among second basemen with 351, 74 more than Ryne Sandberg. He spent the last four seasons with the Dodgers, hitting .291 with 122 doubles, 75 homers and 311 RBIs. Los Angeles issued a statement Wednesday announcing the news conference. A five-time All-Star and the 2000 NL MVP, Kent hit .253 during the first half of last season, improved to .353 in August, then injured his knee on Aug. 29 and had surgery four days later. He returned to make the postseason roster, but was relegated to a bench role. He went a combined 0-for-9 with four strikeouts during the two playoff series and became a free agent in November. He'll be replaced at second base by Blake DeWitt, who took over when Kent was sidelined. Kent had a .290 career batting average, 377 homers, 1,518 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage. He was drafted by Toronto in 1989 and also played for the New York Mets, Cleveland, San Francisco and Houston. His greatest success came with the Giants, where he played with Barry Bonds. The two players had some famous run-ins, and Kent later tangled with Milton Bradley in Los Angeles. Kent was known for his intense approach to the game and he criticized players who used performance-enhancing drugs while endorsing improved testing. He made his only World Series appearance with San Francisco in 2002, hitting three homers as the Giants lost to the Anaheim Angels in seven games. In recent seasons, Kent had expressed interest in spending more time with his family, which includes four children. Link
