64 Facts About Matt Kemp

1.

Matthew Ryan Kemp was born on September 23,1984 and is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.

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2.

Matt Kemp began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2003, and played in Major League Baseball with the Dodgers from 2006 until 2014, the San Diego Padres in 2015 and 2016 and the Atlanta Braves in 2016 and 2017 before returning to the Dodgers for the 2018 season, and briefly playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 and Colorado Rockies in 2020.

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3.

Matt Kemp was named to three All-Star teams and won two Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards.

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4.

Matt Kemp did not become a full-time player until 2008, when he took over as the starting center fielder for the Dodgers.

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5.

Matt Kemp was born in Midwest City, Oklahoma, the son of Carl Matt Kemp and Judy Henderson, who never married.

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6.

Matt Kemp was raised in Oklahoma by his mother, a registered nurse, and grandmother.

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7.

Matt Kemp attended Midwest City High School in Oklahoma, where he was a standout in basketball and baseball.

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8.

Matt Kemp was teammates with Shelden Williams on the varsity basketball team that won the state title two years in a row, and the team was ranked third in the nation at one point.

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9.

Matt Kemp himself was an All-City selection, and averaged 20 points a game.

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10.

Matt Kemp received a scholarship offer to play college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners.

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11.

Matt Kemp was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 6th round of the 2003 MLB draft, and signed with the team on June 5,2003, for a $130,000 signing bonus.

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12.

Matt Kemp began 2006 with the AA Jacksonville Suns, where he hit.

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13.

Matt Kemp's promotion was spurred by an effort to provide regular rest for center fielder Kenny Lofton and the often injured right field All-Star JD Drew.

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14.

Matt Kemp made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 28,2006, against the Washington Nationals.

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15.

Matt Kemp got his first career major league hit that same game, a single off of Jon Rauch.

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16.

Matt Kemp became the first Dodger and fifth major league player to hit four homers in his first 10 days with the team.

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17.

Matt Kemp started the 2007 season on the major league roster but lost his place after suffering a shoulder injury while running into the outfield fence at Dodger Stadium.

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18.

Matt Kemp hit four home runs, drove in 20 runs, and stole nine bases out of 11 attempts.

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19.

Matt Kemp enjoyed an outstanding sophomore campaign with the bat batting.

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20.

Matt Kemp drove in the first run of the game for the Dodgers, a sacrifice fly in the first inning that scored Juan Pierre.

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21.

However, Matt Kemp got back on track the next night by having a three-hit game to go along with a home run.

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22.

Matt Kemp hit his first career post-season home run on October 7 in his first at-bat of the 2009 NLDS against the St Louis Cardinals.

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23.

Matt Kemp tied a Dodger record with three grand slams in one season.

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24.

Matt Kemp described his first career walk-off home run as "a great feeling".

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25.

Matt Kemp broke his own single-season Dodger record for strikeouts, with 170.

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26.

Matt Kemp was the subject of some criticism in 2010 from General Manager Ned Colletti, who called him out publicly early in the season for poor baserunning.

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27.

Matt Kemp had several embarrassing gaffes on the base paths during the season, and was caught stealing 15 times.

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28.

Matt Kemp hit home runs in five straight games to end the season, the first major league player to accomplish that feat and the first Dodger since Shawn Green in the 2001 season to hit homers in five consecutive games.

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29.

Matt Kemp announced his intention to steal 40 bases this season and Lopes hoped they would be high percentage steals.

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30.

Matt Kemp accepted an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game.

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31.

On September 20, the Dodgers announced Matt Kemp was selected by his teammates as the recipient of the 2011 Roy Campanella Award, which is given annually to the Dodger player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Roy Campanella.

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32.

Matt Kemp extended his games played streak to 364 games, as he played in every game of the season.

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33.

Matt Kemp was the first player to finish in the top two in both home runs and steals since Hank Aaron in the 1963 season.

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34.

Matt Kemp was selected for a number of post-season awards, including the Baseball America Major League Player of the Year, the Hank Aaron Award for the top hitter in the National League the Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award.

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35.

Matt Kemp publicly stated that he believed Braun should be stripped of his MVP Award from that season.

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36.

Matt Kemp started the 2012 season by winning the National League Player of the Week award for the opening weekend.

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37.

Matt Kemp hit two home runs and drove in eight RBIs during the opening series against the San Diego Padres.

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38.

Matt Kemp was the first Dodger to record three consecutive multi-hit games to start the season since Adrian Beltre did it in the 2000 season.

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39.

Matt Kemp won the Player of the Week award for the second week of the season, which, combined with winning the award in the last week of 2011, made him the only player to ever win three consecutive awards.

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40.

Matt Kemp was only the second player to win the award twice to begin the season, the other being Tony Armas for the 1981 Athletics.

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41.

Matt Kemp hit his 10th home run of the season on April 25, tying Gary Sheffield's club record for homers in April set in the 2000 season.

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42.

Matt Kemp's 9 stolen bases were his fewest since his first season.

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43.

Matt Kemp recorded his 1,000th career hit on May 12,2013, against the Miami Marlins.

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44.

However, Matt Kemp struggled out of the gate in 2013, subsequent to his shoulder surgery in the offseason.

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45.

Matt Kemp left during the seventh inning, and did not return to the game.

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46.

In that game, Matt Kemp made a game-ending catch while reaching over his shoulder, robbing the Giants' Marco Scutaro of a hit.

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47.

Matt Kemp played regularly in an attempt to get his timing back before the playoffs.

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48.

Matt Kemp was told that if he kept playing his ankle could break and leave him with chronic problems for the rest of his career.

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49.

Matt Kemp was shut down, and the team announced he would not be available for the playoffs and would have surgery to repair the problem.

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50.

Matt Kemp suffered an articular talar injury requiring microfracture surgery to his talus bone.

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51.

Matt Kemp appeared in only 73 games in 2013, due to his various injuries.

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52.

Recovering from various injuries, Matt Kemp sat out most of spring training and only started playing in minor league rehab games after the Dodgers left for their season-opening series in Australia.

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53.

Matt Kemp was more comfortable in right which led to the Dodgers moving Yasiel Puig to center field.

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54.

Matt Kemp was second among NL outfielders in errors, with seven.

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55.

Matt Kemp played his first game with the Padres during opening day on April 6,2015, against his old team, the Dodgers.

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56.

Matt Kemp finished with a triple to center field in the top of the 9th inning, scoring Yangervis Solarte from first.

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57.

The Braves moved Matt Kemp to left field, a position he had started playing with the Dodgers in 2014.

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58.

Matt Kemp homered in his first career World Series at-bat off of Chris Sale in Game 1 of the 2018 World Series.

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59.

On May 24,2019, Matt Kemp was signed by the New York Mets to a minor-league deal.

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60.

On June 30,2020, Matt Kemp signed a minor-league deal with the Colorado Rockies.

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61.

On July 17,2020, it was announced that Matt Kemp would have his contract selected to the 40-man roster by the Rockies in advance of Opening Day.

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62.

In May 2021, Matt Kemp was named to the roster of the United States national baseball team for the Americas Qualifying Event.

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63.

Matt Kemp bought a home in Poway, California in 2013, but sold it in 2020 for $4.

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64.

Matt Kemp is involved in charities for children, even creating a community initiative called Matt Kemp's Kids which hosted children from the Los Angeles area during several games at Dodger Stadium.

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