Jeff Kent’s summer of 2026 will be defined by milestones that cement his place among baseball’s all-time greats.

The former San Francisco Giants second baseman is set to receive two of the sport’s highest honors within a span of just over a month, beginning with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and followed by a permanent tribute in the city where he played his best baseball.

The Giants announced that Kent’s iconic No. 21 will be retired on Aug. 29 at Oracle Park as part of a special Hall of Fame celebration.

The ceremony comes shortly after Kent’s induction in Cooperstown on July 26, making it a fitting homecoming for one of the most impactful infielders in franchise history. To commemorate the occasion, the first 21,000 fans through the gates will receive a custom replica Hall of Fame inductee ring.

With the honor, Kent becomes the 14th player in Giants history to have his number retired, joining a legendary group that includes Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and Orlando Cepeda.

The franchise has long reserved number retirements for players who left a lasting imprint not only on the stat sheet, but on the identity of Giants baseball.

Kent’s career spanned 17 seasons and included stops with six different organizations, but his legacy is most closely tied to San Francisco. Acquired in a bold 1996 trade, Kent quickly became a cornerstone of the Giants’ lineup.

Over six seasons with the club, he posted a .297 batting average with a .535 slugging percentage, averaging nearly 30 home runs and well over 100 RBIs per year.

The peak of Kent’s career came in 2000, when he captured the National League Most Valuable Player Award. That season, he set career highs across the board, producing one of the greatest offensive years ever by a second baseman.

From 1999 through 2001, Kent was a fixture at the All-Star Game, forming the backbone of a Giants lineup that consistently contended.

Perhaps Kent’s most enduring statistical achievement is his power from the middle infield. With 351 career home runs as a second baseman, he stands alone atop the positional leaderboard.

That historic production played a major role in his election to the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026 via the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.

For Giants fans, the retirement of No. 21 serves as a long-overdue celebration of a player whose bat reshaped expectations for the position and whose prime years helped define an era in San Francisco.

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