Matt Kemp final performed in 2020, so it wasn't essentially a shock. However earlier this week, the previous Dodgers All-Star outfielder stated goodbye to baseball, in a submit on Instagram.
“It's been a very long time, however I simply needed to say – from the underside of my coronary heart – Thanks.
“Thanks to my household, buddies, teammates and coaches. Thanks for believing in me, supporting me and serving to me understand a dream that began in little league in Midwest Metropolis, Oklahoma – the dream of sooner or later enjoying my favourite recreation with the world's greatest gamers in Main League Baseball.
“And final however not least… thanks to all of the followers who’ve supported me on my journey. Thanks for cheering my identify and displaying me love all these years.
“Couldn't be extra excited concerning the subsequent chapter. Extra to return!”
The Dodgers drafted Kemp within the sixth spherical in 2003, and he reached the majors three years later on the age of 21, a part of a bunch of younger expertise that helped gasoline the Dodgers' first prolonged playoff run. in twenty years.
He received a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger in 2009 and 2011, one in every of two Dodgers to win each awards in the identical season a number of instances, together with Mookie Betts.
Kemp's breakout season was in 2011, when he hit 39 house runs, stole 40 bases, and hit .324/.399/.586. He was the most effective participant within the Nationwide League that yr, however misplaced within the MVP voting to Ryan Braun.
Accidents took their toll quickly after, sidelined by a number of hamstring strains and shoulder surgical procedure in his closing three years with the Dodgers earlier than being traded to the Padres at a busy winter assembly in 2014, the primary underneath Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers re-acquired Kemp for the 2018 season in a commerce that was extra about aggressive steadiness than something, nevertheless it gave the staff one other All-Star season, his third. Kemp performed in his solely World Collection that season, and homered in Sport 1 at Fenway Park for the Dodgers' first run.
Kemp was linked to Betts in one other approach, albeit not directly. In December 2018, Kemp was traded to the Reds in one other CBT commerce, with Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wooden going to the Reds in a seven-player deal that introduced prospects Jeter Downs and Josiah Grey to Los Angeles. The Dodgers then used it in trades for Betts and Max Scherzer/Trea Turner.
Kemp in his 15 main league seasons hit .284/.337/.484 with 287 house runs, 1,031 RBI, and a 127 wRC+. He made three All-Star groups. Kemp's 127 OPS+ with the Dodgers is thirteenth greatest amongst gamers with 3,000 plate appearances. His 203 house runs rank seventh in franchise historical past.
It was a hell of a journey.