Anthony Allen Kemp (born October 31, 1991) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

second baseman and

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 cat ...

for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Kemp won the World Series with the Astros in 2017.

Career

Amateur

Kemp graduated from Centennial High School in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. He attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he played

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 pl ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores baseball The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team is an American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college baseball team. From Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Co ...

team. In 2011, Kemp was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

's (SEC) Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SEC. He was a key contributor on the first Vanderbilt baseball team to make it to the College World Series. In 2012, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n and the SEC Baseball Player of the Year in 2013.

Houston Astros

The Astros selected Kemp in the fifth round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. In 2015, Kemp began the season with the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He received a midseason promotion to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, and appeared in the 2015

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. Kemp began the 2016 season with Fresno, and was promoted to the major leagues on May 16. He was optioned to Fresno on June 25, 2016, when

A. J. Reed Andrew Joseph Reed (born May 10, 1993) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox. He played college baseball at Kentucky. He was drafted ...

was called up for his debut. On August 7, 2016, Kemp was recalled to the Astros. After center fielder

Carlos Gómez Carlos Argelis Gómez Peña, nicknamed Go-Go, (born December 4, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays ...

was designated for assignment, Kemp and

Jake Marisnick Jacob Shawn Marisnick (born March 30, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Diego Padr ...

platooned in centerfield. On March 19, 2017, he was optioned back to Fresno. On April 27, 2017 the Astros promoted Kemp to the major leagues to replace injured

Teoscar Hernández Teoscar José Hernández (born October 15, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. Hernández was ...

. On May 1, 2017, the Astros optioned him back down as Marisnick was activated off of the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. On September 2, 2017, he was called up to the Astros and played in their doubleheader against the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, their first home game after

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

. In 17 games with the Astros, Kemp had a .216 average and 4 RBI. The Astros finished the season with a 101-61 record and eventually won the

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the ...

, their first ever championship title. Kemp did not participate in any playoff action, but was still on the 40-man roster at the time, and won his first championship title. In March 2018, the Astros optioned Kemp back to Fresno. He was called up on May 16 to replace Jake Marisnick. In the 2018 season, Kemp played in 97 games for the Astros, batting .263/.351/.392 with 6 HR and 30 RBI, playing primarily in left field. He was mocked by the

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

crowd and organist during the second game of the

2018 American League Championship Series The 2018 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series pitting the defending World Series champion Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series. ...

(ALCS) when he took an extended period of time to return to the batter's box after a foul ball. Following the third game of the 2018 ALCS, Kemp received wide sports media coverage for making a leaping catch against the left field wall on a ball hit by Steve Pearce. The Red Sox challenged the catch at the wall, since it sounded like the ball hit the wall first. After further review, they announced the catch as confirmed, meaning the MLB replay crew in New York saw conclusive evidence of the catch. In game four, Kemp hit a fourth inning solo home run off

Rick Porcello Frederick Alfred Porcello III (born December 27, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets. Selected by the Tigers in the 2007 MLB ...

after only hitting six homers during the regular season. On July 26, 2019, the Astros

designated Designation (from Latin ''designatio'') is the process of determining an incumbent's successor. A candidate that won an election for example, is the ''designated'' holder of the office the candidate has been elected to, up until the candidate's i ...

Kemp for assignment to activate

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, who selected him first overall in the ...

. His 2019 season with the Astros ended with a disappointing .227/.308/.417 line over 163 at-bats, while setting a career high with 7 homeruns in just 66 games, prior to being traded.

Chicago Cubs

On July 31, 2019, the Astros traded Kemp to the

for

Martín Maldonado Martín Benjamín Maldonado Valdés (born August 16, 1986) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, K ...

Oakland Athletics

On January 13, 2020, Kemp was traded to the

for minor league first baseman

Alfonso Rivas Alfonso Rivas III (born September 13, 1996) is a Mexican-American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder in the Chicago Cubs organization. He made his MLB debut in 2021. Amateur career Rivas was born on the side of the road along Inte ...

. In 2020 for the Athletics, Kemp slashed .247/.363/.301 with no home runs and four RBI in 49 games. In 2021, he slashed .279/.382/.418 with 8 home runs and 37 RBIs in 131 games. In 2022 he batted .235/.307/.334 in 497 at bats. He had the lowest average exit velocity of all major league batters, at 84.4 mph, and the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls, at 14.9%. On January 13, 2023, Kemp signed a one-year, $3.725 million contract with the Athletics, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Tony 1991 births Living people People from Franklin, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Houston Astros players Chicago Cubs players Oakland Athletics players Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players Tri-City ValleyCats players Quad Cities River Bandits players Lancaster JetHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Fresno Grizzlies players All-American college baseball players African-American baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Rochester Honkers players

Career

Amateur

Houston Astros

Chicago Cubs

Oakland Athletics

See also

References

External links