For The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Jeff Kent figured he’d be asked to talk about the time he and Barry Bonds were teammates in San Francisco as soon as the Giants came into town with the slugger one homer shy of Hank Aaron’s record.
Kent, who once got into a heated argument with Bonds in the Giants’ dugout, was cornered Tuesday in the Dodgers clubhouse, first by a local columnist then by a group of reporters.
“I knew I’d probably get hit here, but I’ve kind of kept my reservations at a minimum in making comments about it and just letting it be,” Kent said. “I never really thought about it that much, nor do I. I don’t put a lot of weight into personal accomplishments, whether it be mine or somebody else’s. I care more about the wins and losses we have, rather than I’m doing or what somebody else is doing. So it didn’t hold any weight with me.”
When asked if he regrets the friction between himself and Bonds back then, or if he thinks Bonds regrets it, the Dodgers’ second baseman said, “It was so blown up. We played for six years together and we went to the World Series together. He accomplished a few things and I did as teammates, and we were professional teammates.
“We weren’t the best of friends, either, but it didn’t have an effect on our lives. So to say that we regret it, no. Hell no. Hell, I heard Mark Grace on FOX national TV, and he said that he and Sammy Sosa weren’t the best of friends off the field, but they played well together. What happened to that controversy? Barry and I were the same way.”
T Park?
“I was asked that many times, and I gave the same answer. But you know, I’ve really tried to stay away from making comments about my history with Barry, and with the Giants. I really have,” Kent said. “We just dealt with it. You deal with the baggage that is brought by your teammates, and Barry was a teammate. We all have baggage, and you just deal with it. But it didn’t affect us as players because we won division titles and we won the pennant one year, so it really didn’t matter that much to us.”
Contrary to popular belief, Kent said, he and Bonds did have meaningful one-on-one conversations in the clubhouse. Ones that weren’t seen on national television.
“We had some intimate conversations, even talked about religion one time,” Kent said. “I mean, we talked. People say we didn’t talk, and that’s a bunch of B.S. I’m not trying to make light of our relationship.”
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