The San Francisco Giants retired the No. 21 jersey of Jeff Kent on Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park. While the focus was on the recently inducted Hall of Famer during the on-field ceremony, one moment, and specifically one statement, involving his former teammate Barry Bonds, admittedly stuck out.
Bonds and Kent did plenty of winning during their playing days in San Francisco together, but the duo is best known for getting into a scuffle with one another in the dugout during a road game in San Diego in 2002. Bonds famously shoved Kent in the neck area before the two were separated by teammates.
The two embraced one another again during the jersey retirement on Saturday and playfully reenacted the moment.
Jeff Kent interacts with Barry Bonds prior to game two of a doubleheader the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday, August 29, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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While addressing the fans, Kent made another ode to the dugout scuffle while also getting honest about his relationship with Bonds.
"I’ve said it many times," Kent said ahead of the Giants' 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks. "He and I have never gone out to dinner, but I’ll go to war with that guy any day of the week. If Bonds and I weren’t fighting in the dugout, we wouldn’t have what we’ve got, I guarantee you."
A detail shot of Jeff Kent's plaque celebrating his hall of fame nomination prior to game two of a doubleheader the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday, August 29, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Looking back on the intense moment he shared in the dugout with Bonds wasn't the only way Kent tipped his cap toward the Home Run King. He also took a moment to send Bonds a message.
"Barry, keep with it, brother, you got a shot, man," Kent said, referring to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"I’m happy for Barry. I’m grateful that I got to play with a phenomenal player, and he knows, too," Kent told reporters after the ceremony. "He’s got some baggage, and he’ll deal with it. He doesn’t need me to deal with it for him. He can do it himself."
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Former San Francisco Giants player Barry Bonds watches batting practice before the game at Oracle Park on September 9, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)
Bonds is the all-time home run leader in MLB history with 762, was a 14-time All-Star, and won National League MVP seven times in his career, but has not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, with voters rejecting his bid due to his well-documented association with performance-enhancing drugs.
"I don't have to worry about those things no more in my life," Bonds said in 2024 while being inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame. "[I want to] hang around my grandchildren and my children. Those hopes [of making the Hall of Fame], I don't have them anymore."
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Bonds, like Kent, had his No. 25 retired by the Giants in 2018.
Mark Harris is a writer for OutKick.
