Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent retires

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent plans to retire after a 17-year major league baseball career.

MLB.com reported the 40-year-old Kent will make his decision final at news conference Thursday.

The 2000 National League MVP ends his career with a .290 career batting average, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBI, and a .500 slugging percentage.

Kent hit 351 home runs while he played second base, 74 more than the next closest second baseman, former Chicago Cubs great and hall of famer Ryne Sandberg.

Last season, Kent became the first 40-year-old in Dodgers history to go into a season as a starting position player.

"They don't have my stats on a World Series ring," Kent once told the Los Angeles Times about not having played in a Fall Classic with the club. "They usually put the wins and losses, but they don't put the stats."

He was a five-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award four times.