Ian Patrick Kennedy was born on December 19,1984 and is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball.
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49 Facts About Ian Kennedy
2.
Ian Kennedy has previously played for the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies.
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3.
Ian Kennedy turned down the Cardinals' offer in order to play college baseball for the University of Southern California.
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4.
Ian Kennedy was the USC Trojans' top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher as a freshman and was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore.
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5.
Ian Kennedy quickly rose through the Yankees' farm system, making his major league debut the year after he signed with the team.
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6.
Ian Kennedy spent parts of three seasons with the Yankees, missing most of the 2009 season with an aneurysm in his arm.
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7.
Ian Kennedy spent two strong seasons in San Diego before a hamstring issue soured his 2015 performance.
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8.
Ian Kennedy opted to become a free agent at the end of the year, then signed with the Royals.
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9.
Ian Kennedy had expected to serve as the team's setup man but repeated his performance as closer after a series of injuries befell the bullpen.
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10.
Ian Kennedy then returned to the Diamondbacks for the 2022 season on a one-year deal.
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11.
Ian Kennedy was born on December 19,1984, in Huntington Beach, California.
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12.
Ian Kennedy began gaining a reputation as a power pitcher when he was a freshman at La Quinta High School in Westminster, California, pitching a five-inning perfect game.
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13.
Ian Kennedy was tapped as the starting pitcher for the US team's bronze medal match at the 2002 World Junior Baseball Championship, where he took the win with only one earned run and 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work.
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14.
Ian Kennedy was credited with the win in the championship match against Japan, where he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
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15.
Ian Kennedy came in third at the time for all-time USC strikeouts with 380, and was second in strikeouts per nine innings with 10.
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16.
Ian Kennedy was the 39th player in USC history to become a first-round MLB draft selection.
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17.
Ian Kennedy received a promotion to the Double-A Trenton Thunder at the start of June and won his Double-A debut against the Binghamton Mets on June 6,2007.
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18.
At the time of his promotion, Ian Kennedy led the Yankees' farm system with 129 strikeouts and was tied for first with 11 wins.
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19.
Ian Kennedy allowed nine hits and five runs and was pulled out of the game in the third inning.
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20.
Ian Kennedy opened the 2009 season in Triple-A but began feeling numbness in his pitching hand that April.
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21.
Ian Kennedy was left off of the postseason roster on the Yankees' run to a 2009 World Series championship title.
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22.
On December 8,2009, Ian Kennedy was part of a three-team, seven-player trade with the Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Detroit Tigers.
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23.
Ian Kennedy was able to take a one-run game into the eighth inning before giving up a grand slam to Kosuke Fukudome, and Daniel Stange was called in to pitch a perfect ninth inning for his own MLB debut.
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25.
Ian Kennedy continued to perform well through the summer, building a seven-game winning streak as well as 22 straight starts in which he threw at least 100 pitches.
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26.
Ian Kennedy finished the season with 21 wins, tying Cy Young honoree Clayton Kershaw as the NL win leader.
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27.
Ian Kennedy ranked among the leaders in the NL with 198 strikeouts, a 2.
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28.
Ian Kennedy finished fourth in voting for the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, behind Kershaw, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee.
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29.
Ian Kennedy was called upon to start Game 1 of the 2011 National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching opposite Yovani Gallardo.
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30.
Ian Kennedy faced Gallardo again in Game 5, with neither pitcher taking the decision.
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31.
Ian Kennedy explained later that he had begun to feel pain in the area on the final pitch of the second inning, and that he had asked to be taken out to avoid injuring his arm by altering his pitching mechanics.
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32.
Ian Kennedy rejected the offer, becoming a free agent that winter.
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33.
Ian Kennedy was happy to join the team, which he described as "an easy environment", and particularly enjoyed the reunion with his Yankees pitching coach, Dave Eiland.
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34.
At the start of the 2017 MLB season, Ian Kennedy served as the Royals' No 2 starter, behind former reliever Danny Duffy.
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35.
Ian Kennedy was able to finish pitching the inning but had to be removed from the game afterwards with a contusion.
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36.
Injuries that Ian Kennedy had suffered in 2018 worried the Royals, who moved him into the bullpen to start the 2019 MLB season, believing that the decreased innings workload would help Ian Kennedy stay healthy through the season.
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37.
Ian Kennedy himself was hesitant to make the change, believing that he was capable of another year in the starting rotation, but he ultimately had a successful stint as the Royals' closer.
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38.
On July 28, Ian Kennedy recorded his 20th save of the year, becoming the sixth pitcher since saves were recorded in 1969 to compile 20 wins and 20 saves in the same season.
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39.
Ian Kennedy attempted to field a ground ball but began limping afterwards and had to be removed from the game.
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40.
On February 23,2021, Ian Kennedy signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers, a deal which included an invitation to spring training.
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41.
The oldest member of the Rangers' bullpen by three years, Ian Kennedy entered the season expecting to serve as the team's setup man, but a series of season-ending injuries to Bush, Jose Leclerc, and Jonathan Hernandez forced the team to turn to Ian Kennedy as their closer.
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42.
Ian Kennedy was part of a trade deadline package deal on July 30,2021, that sent him, starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, prospect Hans Crouse, and cash considerations to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Spencer Howard and prospects Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner.
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43.
On March 16,2022, Ian Kennedy signed a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2023 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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44.
The mental care that Ian Kennedy takes when deciding when and which off-speed pitch to throw has drawn comparisons to that of Mike Messina and Greg Maddux, both of whom Ian Kennedy observed when he was developing as a pitcher.
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45.
Ian Kennedy is one of several pitchers to utilize a unique changeup grip known as the Vulcan, in which the ball is gripped with a two-finger split reminiscent of the Vulcan salute in Star Trek.
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46.
Ian Kennedy married Allison Jaskowiak, then a member of the USC Trojans women's basketball team, on October 6,2007, in Kirkwood, Missouri.
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47.
One daughter was born July 31,2015, two hours before Ian Kennedy was scheduled to start a game against the Miami Marlins.
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48.
Ian Kennedy had planned to return to California when his wife went into labor, but ran into delays and watched the birth over FaceTime in Miami.
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49.
Ian Kennedy was a recipient of the 2019 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award, presented to baseball players for their continued support of members of the United States military.
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