CONDITIONAL LOVE KENT MAY NOT BE A BASEBALL FAN, BUT GAME HAS BEEN GOOD TO HIM.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

CINCINNATI - Jeff Kent isn't much of a dreamer. And even if he were, this wouldn't be the dream.

This dream is for starry-eyed kids who grew up idolizing George Brett and Reggie Jackson and Pete Rose. This dream is for guys who, by the time they got to high school, already were obsessing over their stances and their strides and trying to pick up the spin on the ball. This dream is for baseball players.

Kent is a cattle rancher, a hunter, an aspiring entrepreneur and, above all, a family man.

He supports his wife, his four children and all those other interests by playing baseball in the major leagues. And if there wasn't a sizable spread waiting every afternoon in the players' lounge, he probably would bring a lunchpail to the ballpark.

``People misunderstand this,'' the Dodgers second baseman said, ``but I'm not a fan of the game. I'm not a fan of baseball, and I never was. I never collected baseball cards. I never got autographs, and I never watched SportsCenter. I went to a handful of games when I was young, but if I had my druthers, I would have made money racing motorcycles. But I couldn't do that.''

Instead, he is here, fresh off one of the most productive opening months of his storied career, in his first season with the closest thing he had to a favorite team while growing up in Huntington Beach. Kent finished April batting .333, with team highs of eight doubles, six home runs, 18 RBI and 17 walks. He was so good, the Dodgers' publicity department promoted him for the National League's Player of the Month award, an honor that ultimately went to Chicago's Derrek Lee.

If the two-year, $17 million free-agent deal Kent signed with the Dodgers last December is, as he hinted at the time, his last contract, he will become eligible for the Hall of Fame on the January 2012 ballot. He has at least an outside shot at getting in.

There are several qualifications and standards for getting into Cooperstown. A passion for the game isn't one of them.

``My dad was a cop down in Costa Mesa,'' Kent said. ``He couldn't afford to send me to a big-time college. But he made a bet with me when I was in high school that if I got a scholarship to college, he would buy me a truck. The only way I could get a scholarship was through baseball, and I got a scholarship to (California). He bought me a truck.''

Back then, baseball for Kent was a means to an end, the end being not so much the truck as a free college education. Almost two decades later, nothing has changed.

``Things just kept on panning out for me,'' he said.

There were three solid seasons for the Golden Bears, followed by a 20th-round draft selection by Toronto after his junior year. There were three more impressive seasons in the minors before Kent finally made his major-league debut for the Blue Jays in 1992, only to be traded to the New York Mets late that season for All-Star pitcher David Cone.

Once in the National League, Kent slowly morphed into one of the most feared power hitters around, capturing the NL Most Valuable Player award while with San Francisco in 2000.

Now, at 37, he might be on the verge of his greatest season yet. And if he appears to brood and grouch his way through it, well, that's just his style.

``People think I'm (a jerk),'' Kent said. ``The media thinks I'm (a jerk), because I don't give them the time of day. But I like my space. I don't talk a whole lot. When I do speak, I have tried to present myself as an educated athlete. But when I don't want to talk, people take offense. But it's nothing personal.''

Kent's on-again, off-again feud with Barry Bonds during their time as Giants teammates is legendary. But Kent, however moody he might be, has been a positive influence in a Dodgers clubhouse laden with veterans.

``Guys don't necessarily have to be overly vocal to be leaders,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``His leadership by example has been outstanding. He comes to the ballpark focused and ready to perform well every single day. It doesn't always work out that way, but the steadiness of his play both offensively and defensively has been really good. He positions himself extremely well, he adjusts to counts defensively extremely well, and he recognizes individual hitters' tendencies in certain counts due to the vast experience he has.

``That's an ability you develop over time, and only by paying close attention.''

From the moment the Dodgers signed Kent, the hue and cry was that they had swapped defense for offense. It was obvious that the silken-gloved Alex Cora was on his way out, and the knock against Kent was that his range at second base was a fraction of Cora's. But Kent insisted throughout spring training that range was all about positioning, and he has positioned himself well enough so far that he didn't commit an error in the Dodgers' first 26 games before committing his first of the season Wednesday against Washington.

As for the game of baseball, it isn't that Kent dislikes it. It's just that this game that has come so easy to him for so long is, to him, a job. Because three of his children are of school age, they have stayed behind at the family ranch in Austin, Texas, with their mother, Dana, until late May. When Kent was with the Giants, his older children went to school in San Francisco. The past two years, he was with Houston and went home whenever the Astros played an afternoon game one day and a night game the next.

This is something new and unfamiliar.

``What I'm battling right now is my family being away from me for the first time,'' Kent said. ``It's a struggle, something I haven't had to deal with before. I really like to break away from the game sometimes and spent time with my family, and I'm not able to do that right now.''

It is for that reason that Kent is beginning to eye retirement, even as he appears to be still at the peak of his career. He says if he decides to walk away after next season, he won't be deterred even if he still is putting up numbers like these.

``I need to watch my kids play Little League,'' Kent said. ``I need to give my wife some time off. There is no way I would be (still playing) if it wasn't for my wife.''

When he finally does hang it up, Kent finally will have time for dreams. He wants to devote himself heavily to his ranch, to his hunting-guide business and to the motorcycle shop (or maybe two) he plans to open one day. But mostly, he wants to devote himself to his family. And if that is the only thing that keeps him tied to baseball, well, so be it.

``My kids love this game,'' Kent said. ``I want to try to introduce them to the game as much as I can. This game has been so good to me, and I have gotten a lot of good things out of this game. I want my kids to see that.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) ``I'm not a fan of the game.'' Dodgers' second baseman Jeff Kent says. ``If I had my druthers, I would have made money racing motorcycles.''

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

(2) Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent finished April batting .333, with team highs of eight doubles, six home runs, 18 RBI and 17 walks.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) no caption (Jeff Kent)

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