SF Giants Hall of Famer Jeff Kent throws his support behind Barry Bonds in number retirement ceremony

Before the second half of a doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the SF Giants held a ceremony to retire Jeff Kent's No. 21. During his speech, Kent spoke to Barry Bonds, saying that he still has a chance to get into the Hall of Fame someday.

The Giants had plenty of notable players in attendance. Bonds was joined by Kirk Rueter, Robb Nen, Dusty Baker, Buster Posey, Juan Marichal, and Will Clark.

Bonds was a surprise guest for a few reasons. He has not been around Oracle Park often this season because his contract as a special advisor has expired. The more obvious reason is that Bonds and Kent clashed a lot during their playing days. Their clashes were often done privately, but one spilled into the public eye when the two wrestled in the dugout in 2002. They may have tried to re-enact that dustup on Saturday.

Kent joked that he never went to dinner with Bonds, but admitted that the home run king was the best player he ever saw play. He also said that he would "go to war with that guy [Bonds] any day of the week."

One SF Giants legend throws his support behind another Giants legend

Bonds and Kent were two highly competitive players. It was often that competitive fire that led to a tense relationship. Athletes play with raw emotion, and that sometimes got the best of them. With Kent and Bonds, that drove them to be better players. It seemed as if they thrived on tension.

Publicly, Kent and Bonds have complimented one another, even if the other was not in the same room. In fact, they rarely were ever in the same room after their playing days, as Kent eluded to in his speech.

However, there was mutual respect for one another. That was on display on Saturday night. Bonds' presence said a lot about what he thought of Kent, and Kent's words echoed a similar sentiment.

In Kent's speech, he mentioned that some of the former Giants players in attendance would eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This group included Buster Posey and Dusty Baker, both of whom will be on the ballot later this year.

The Giants Hall of Famer did not single anyone out except Bonds. His words were brief, but he told Bonds that he still has a shot.

It might be a while before Bonds gets that shot. He appeared on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, along with Kent, in the winter, but did not get enough support for his name to remain on the ballot when they reconvene in three years.

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