Clifton Lewis "Buddy" Kennedy (born October 5, 1998) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

organization.

Amateur career

Born and raised in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,Millville Senior High School Millville Senior High School is a comprehensive community public high school located in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in eleventh grade and twelfth grade as part of the Millville Public Schools. ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and batted .493 with six home runs as a senior in 2017. He was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed for $550,000, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Professional career

Kennedy made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

, batting .270 with nine doubles, eight triples, and twenty RBIs over fifty games. In 2018, he played with the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Par ...

with whom he slashed .327/.396/.465 with four home runs and 32 RBIs over 57 games. For the 2019 season, he played for the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...

, hitting .262 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs over 101 games. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 after the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Kennedy began the 2021 season with the

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. ...

and was promoted to the

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown ...

in mid-June. Over 96 games between the two clubs, Kennedy slashed .290/.384/.523 with 22 home runs, sixty RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility o ...

after the season. Kennedy was assigned to the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to begin the 2022 season. On June 17, the Diamondbacks selected his contract and he made his MLB debut that night as the starting designated hitter versus the Minnesota Twins. He recorded his first MLB hit that night with a single off of

Devin Smeltzer Devin Paul Smeltzer (born September 7, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Miami Marlins organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins. Amateur career Smeltzer attended Bishop ...

. On June 19, he recorded his first MLB home run, a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

versus

Caleb Thielbar Caleb John Thielbar (born January 31, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2013. Career Early career Thielbar attended Randolph High S ...

of the Minnesota Twins. He was sent outright off the roster on November 11, 2022.

Personal life

Kennedy is close friends with

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Mike Trout and trains with him in the off-season. Kennedy's grandfather,

Don Money Donald Wayne Money (born June 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Kintetsu ...

, played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Buddy 1998 births Living people People from Millville, New Jersey Baseball players from New Jersey Major League Baseball third basemen Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Millville Senior High School alumni Missoula Osprey players Kane County Cougars players Hillsboro Hops players Amarillo Sod Poodles players Salt River Rafters players Reno Aces players Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey