MVP pitches

March 30, 2001
Jeff Kent and Jason Giambi are two of baseball's best hitters, and have last year's Most Valuable Player trophies to prove it. Now they are working on becoming better pitchers.
But the approaches to corporate endorsements taken by the Oakland A's Giambi and San Francisco Giants' Kent are as different as a fastball and changeup. Motorcycle-loving Giambi parlayed his MVP award into national deals with Pepsi, video-game maker Electronic Arts and menswear retailer Ermenegildo Zegna; workaday family man Kent has picked up mostly smaller, baseball-related offers.
Different people, different endorsement paths.
"I've got tattoos and ride a Harley, and he's got a John Deere and farms," Giambi said. "It's just different personalities."