LOS ANGELES – After 15 great years in the big leagues, Matt Kemp has officially retired from baseball.
A sixth round pick in the 2003 MLB draft, Kemp is remembered primarily for his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he spent a total of nine seasons, receiving three All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and was the NL home run and RBI leader in 2011 with 39 and 126, which earned him the Hank Aaron award as being voted the best hitter in the NL, and was second in NL MVP voting.
He also set the Dodgers franchise record at the time when he signed an eight-year contract worth $160 million in the 2011 offseason.
Matt Kemp Was One Of The Best Players Of His Era
Over the course of his career, Kemp had a .284/.337/.484 slashline, with 287 total home runs, and 1,031 RBI, and had a total WAR of 21.4.
2011 was by far Kemp’s best year in the bigs, playing a total of 161 regular season games. He earned All-Star honors, one of his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, along with the Hank Aaron Award and almost won MVP. He hit .324, with an on-base percentage of .399 and a slugging percentage of .586. He also had 40 steals, which was second in the NL. He was the first player since Hank Aaron in 1963 to finish top two in both home runs and stolen bases.
Matt Kemp Robbed Of MVP: Ryan Braun PED Scandal
However, 2011 was the year that Ryan Braun won the MVP over Kemp, but it was later revealed that Braun tested positive for PEDs and was eventually suspended by the MLB. After a song and dance where he tried to put the blame on a sample handler, in August of 2013, MLB suspended Braun for the rest of the season — 65 games — making him the first player suspended in MLB’s investigation of the Biogenesis lab.
Many of the voters admitted that if there was a redo vote, Kemp would most likely be the 2011 NL MVP. Kemp also publicly came out condemning Braun, saying that his MVP should have been stripped.
Kemp played for the boys in blue from 2006-2014, but during the 2014 offseason, Kemp was the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal that sent him, Tim Federowicz and $32 million in cash to the division rival San Diego Padres for Joe Wieland, Yasmani Grandal, and Zach Eflin.
He would play in San Diego for one and a half seasons, where he hit .264 with 46 home runs and 169 RBI before eventually getting dealt to the Atlanta Braves at the 2016 trade deadline. He would play with them till the end of the 2017 season.
Kemp was then traded back to the Dodgers for the 2018 season, where he ended up having a resurgence in his career. He started off the season batting .316, which earned him his third All-Star appearance. He also played in his one and only Fall Classic against the Red Sox, where he homered in his first World Series at bat.
Kemp also played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 and the Colorado Rockies in 2020, which was his last appearance in the bigs.
Although he is no longer playing, Kemp is still involved in the game, as he is back with the Dodgers serving in an advisory role. His presence on the field will truly be missed, as he is a supreme MLBbro and a player that fans will never forget.
Sometimes you get knocked down before you reach the top. You’ve got to get back up.
With St. Louis struggling at 11-14 on the season, Cardinals’ outfielder Jordan Walker was sent back down to AAA on Wednesday to work on his pitch recognition and swing, according to MLB.com’s John Denton.
The Cardinals’ start to the season wasn’t favorable, but neither was Walker’s. In 20 games, Walker hit at a .155 batting average and has struck out 18 times — he also has yet to put one past the wall and has gone hitless through five games.
Just last season, the 6-foot-6 designated hitter had come onto the scene hot, being the No. 4 prospect on the pipeline and giving the Cardinals hope for the future.
Walker capitalized off of the opportunity in 2023, hitting 16 homers and finishing with a batting average of .276 in 117 contests.
Walker’s strides last season weren’t a big enough case to keep his spot in the majors as it seems he was caught in the mix.
Jordan Walker A Casualty Of Manager’s Hot Seat?
After going from 93 wins in 2022 to 71 in 2023, things already weren’t looking up for manager Oliver Marmol. In his third year on the team, Marmol’s seat has begun to warm up and it seems a move had to be made.
In his statement, Marmol said the decision was “thinking about what’s best for Jordan’s development,” as he told Denton.
While that may be true, a manager on the hot seat’s words can be taken with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, a manager who wants to prove he can win will aim to put his best performers on the field, and Walker hadn’t placed himself in that category in his current campaign.
With his aforementioned successful rookie season, Walker could’ve expected to be given a longer leash, but that leash is more like a keychain under Marmol. Regardless, the Cardinals are near the bottom of the NL in batting average, so one could question, who would do a better job than Walker?
Just The Beginning For Jordan “Sky” Walker
Look at the bright side. Being sent down isn’t the end of the road for Walker.
Just last season, Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez was sent down amid early struggles. When he returned, he lit up batters and locked in his spot as one of Baltimore’s premier pitchers.
While Walker plays a different position, the logic is the same. Walker is just 21 years old and has plenty of time to develop his game, especially if he looks to contribute as a designated hitter — adding plenty of life to his career.
Matt Kemp’s Story Provides Hope For Jordan Walker
Even though Rodriguez’ story is nowhere near set in stone, former outfielder Matt Kemp provides a pot of hope for his fellow MLBbro.
Like Walker, Kemp started his major league career early and well but went through a slump not just in his rookie season, but the season that followed. Both times, Kemp was optioned to AAA, but in the second go-around, he turned things up and hit for a .329 batting average in 32 games to end the season.
Now, Kemp is a three-time MLB All-Star who accumulated 287 home runs and 1808 hits in his 15-year career. With that, Walker can look forward to a minor setback that can result in a major comeback.
The LA Dodgers continue to build a dynastic and diverse looking organization from top to bottom.
Four seasons removed from facing MLB pitching, former Dodgers star Matt Kemp is back with the organization that saw him rise to superstardom as a perennial MVP candidate from 2006-2014. The three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove outfielder returned to the Dodgers in 2018 and earned his final All-Star selection, along with high praise from manager Dave Roberts.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Kemp will serve in an advisory role for the Dodgers. The 39-year-old MLBbro is the second former Black star to take a front office job with the Dodgers this offseason.
Former Tampa Bay Rays ace Chris Archer has a flexible role in the Dodgers front office to explore a wide range of interests.
The Dodgers already had a Matt Kemp bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium planned for Aug. 11, so bringing him into the fold is the icing on the cake. He will probably help former Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier aid in Miguel Vargas’ adjustment to left field, along with helping the group of outfielders who have to roam without Gold Glover Mookie Betts holding down the corner.
Betts is on his way to trying to become the first player to ever win Gold Gloves in both the outfield and an infield position other than first base. The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers promotional and giveaway schedule includes 18 bobblehead dates, headlined by two for Shohei Ohtani.
Freddie Freeman will kick it off on Saturday, March 30. The first Ohtani bobblehead is scheduled for Thursday, May 16. The design has been revealed to have the two-way star in a batting pose while wearing the home Dodgers uniform. The second Ohtani bobblehead is being given away on Wednesday, August 28.
Matt Kemp Should Have Won 2011 NL MVP: Had 287 Career Homers, 184 Steals
Over a 15-year career, Kemp hit 287 career homers with 1031 RBI and 184 steals. His MLB buzz during his time with the Dodgers. In his 10 seasons there, Kemp hit .292/.348/.494 with 240 doubles, 203 home runs and 733 RBI, won two Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Sluggers, made three All-Star Games and should have won the 2011 MVP, but lost in a controversial decision to Ryan Braun for 2011 NL MVP. Kemp had a heavily-brocentric season.
Kemp led the NL in runs (115), homers (39) and RBI (126). He had 40 stolen bases, falling just one-homer short of the exclusive 40-40 club. He also had more walks, hits and games played than Braun, who had a higher slugging percentage and OPS.
Ryan Braun Had PED Drama But Beat 50-Game Suspension On Technicality
It’s truly one of the worst robberies of all time considering Braun tested positive in October for elevated testosterone, and ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” revealed the positive test in December.
Braun was able to skate on the 50-game suspension, by exploiting a loophole. Multiple sources said the sample was not shipped for testing as soon as possible, as required by the drug testing policy, and instead was kept in a cool place in the sample collector’s home.
Sources told ESPN at the time that the collector left Braun’s sample on a desk in a Tupperware container and left it there for two days. Braun didn’t argue the legitimacy of the science, but the mishandling of his sample, which negates the test results. Braun is still considered a player who failed a PED test in the court of public opinion and is further proof that the award should have just gone to Kemp.
It’s not the last time you can say he was snubbed.
But now he’s back home and, in any event, what Magic Johnson and Dave Roberts and the Dodgers are building is a baseball paradise. An all-inclusive resort where players from all over the world, old and new, can become a part of Dodgers Nation as they become the “it” MLB franchise as move towards the 2030s.
If you consider yourself a baseball fan, then you should already be counting down the days until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
If you don’t have the dates saved yet, hurry up and mark your calendars and be prepared to call out of work.
This year’s games are going to be something special.
For the first time since 2008, baseball will be played at the Summer Olympics.
Fortunately for MLBbro Nation, this could mean something huge.
We might only be a few weeks away from watching both Matt Kemp and Edwin Jackson compete on an international level. Get ready.
Both Jackson and Kemp are a part of the 26-man roster that recently secured a berth in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics after defeating Venezuela 4-2 with Jackson on the mound.
Despite the win, and two hitless innings from Jackson, whether or not we see the duo in this year’s Olympic games has yet to be official.
Out of the 26-man roster, only 24 players make the final team. Jackson and Kemp both survived the cut when the qualifying roster went from 28 players to 26.
If you’re wondering why MLBbros like Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge are nowhere to be found on the Olympic roster, it’s because there is a major hurdle MLB players face when making an Olympic team.
That hurdle is the actual MLB season, which will be in full force come the Tokyo games. Plus, Major League Baseball does not allow its active big league players to participate.
This all leaves the United States with limited options when compiling a list of baseball players to send abroad during the month of July.
The solution? A team composed of the best minor league players and the best free agent players that the U.S. has to offer. Matt Kemp and Edwin Jackson should be easy additions to the final roster.
During his 14-year major league career, Kemp became a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove, and a two-time Silver Slugger award winner.
In October 2020, he elected free agency after a short stint with the Colorado Rockies. Kemp is the most decorated player on the current Olympic roster, and his veteran leadership will be needed if the United States wants to win big in Tokyo.
A former All-Star and World Series champion, Jackson is one of nine African American pitchers to ever have a no-hitter in a Major League Baseball game. Like Kemp, Jackson is a veteran, and his leadership and experience on the mound will be key for the United States.
In a conversation with MLBbro.com’s very own Telly Hughes, Jackson admitted that representing the United States is unique in comparison to the teams he’s played for in the past.
“I’ve put on a lot of different jerseys, but this one here is a little different,” said Jackson.
Team USA is set to announce its finalized roster on or after July 1, 2021.
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