| Adam Kennedy | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kennedy with the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||
| Second baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1976-01-10)January 10, 1976 (age 49) Riverside, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| August 21, 1999, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| September 7, 2012, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .272 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 80 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 571 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Adam Thomas Kennedy (born January 10, 1976) is an American former professionalbaseballsecond baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theSt. Louis Cardinals,Oakland Athletics,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,Washington Nationals,Seattle Mariners, andLos Angeles Dodgers.
Kennedy was born inRiverside, California. He attendedJohn W. North High School in Riverside, playing baseball and basketball.[1] His father coached baseball and taught at North High School.[2]
Kennedy attendedCal State Northridge, where he playedshortstop for theMatadors. He set school records in careerhits,runs batted in (RBI), andbatting average and was a three-timeAll-American. He led the nation in hits as a sophomore and junior.[3][2] In 1996, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theFalmouth Commodores of theCape Cod Baseball League.[4]
Kennedy was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by theSt. Louis Cardinals in the1997 MLB draft. In 1999 with theMemphis Redbirds, he hit .327 with 10 home runs and 63 RBI. He was selected as aPacific Coast League All-Star and aBaseball America first-team Minor League All-Star.
He made his MLB debut on August 21, 1999, for the Cardinals against theNew York Mets atsecond base. He was hitless in four at-bats in that game.[5] His first MLB hit was a three-RBI double to left field the next day offOrel Hershiser of the Mets. His first MLB home run came on August 31 againstBrian Meadows of theFlorida Marlins. He appeared in 33 games for the Cardinals in 1999, hitting .255 with 1home run and 16RBIs.[6] In the 2000 offseason, the Cardinals signed former All-StarFernando Viña to start atsecond base, making Kennedy, who hadn't separated himself from his infield counterparts, expendable.
On March 23, 2000, Kennedy was traded to theAnaheim Angels along with All-StarpitcherKent Bottenfield foroutfielderJim Edmonds.[7]
Kennedy matched a team record with eight RBI in 16–10 win over theBlue Jays on April 18, 2000.[8]
Kennedy would finish his rookie season, batting .266/.300/.403 with 9 home runs and 72 RBIs. He received a single vote inAL Rookie of the Year voting, tying him for sixth place withSteve Cox,Mark Redman andBarry Zito.[9]
In the 2001 season, Kennedy hit .270/.318/.372 with 6 home runs and 40 RBIs. Kennedy was the team's starting second baseman, but showed only marginal improvement following a strong rookie campaign.
The 2002 season was Kennedy's breakthrough year, as it established him as a fixture in the Angels infield. During the regular season, he hit .312/.345/.449 with 7 home runs and 52 RBIs, as the Angels earned awild card berth, their first playoff appearance in 16 years.
In Game 5 of the2002 American League Championship Series against the Minnesota Twins, Kennedy hit threehome runs, joining only nine other players who hit three homers in a postseason game:Babe Ruth,Bob Robertson,Reggie Jackson,George Brett,Adrián Beltré,Albert Pujols,Pablo Sandoval,Jose Altuve, andEnrique Hernández.[10] Kennedy's performance helped the Angels clinch theAmerican League pennant, and Kennedy was named theseries' Most Valuable Player. For the series, Kennedy hit .357 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. The Angels went on to beat theSan Francisco Giants in seven games in theWorld Series, earning Kennedy aWorld Series ring. In the 2002 entire postseason, Kennedy hit .340 with 4 home runs, after only hitting 7 home runs in 143 regular season games.
The 2003 season was a season of ups and downs for Kennedy, he hit a career-high 13 home runs, and his walk rate increased over 5% (3.7% in 2002 to 8.8% in 2003), but his average dropped to .269 and he struggled to repeat his 2002 success as the Angels failed to make the postseason and defend their World Series title. Despite this, on December 19, 2003, Kennedy agreed to a 3-year, $8.85 million contract that would keep him in Anaheim through the 2006 season.[11]
Kennedy's 2004 campaign was eerily similar to his 2003 one, he hit .278 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs. Despite his inconsistent play, the Angels were in contention for a playoff spot down the stretch. On September 20, during a game against theSeattle Mariners, Kennedy suffered a tornACL &MCL in his right knee while attempting to field a single up the middle fromIchiro Suzuki,[12] which caused him to miss the remainder of the season, including the Angels final playoff push and eventual playoff run.
The 2005 season was somewhat of a resurgence for Kennedy, as he hit exactly .300, but only hit 2 home runs and had just 37 RBIs, both of which were career-lows since he became an everyday player. The Angels once again won theAL West to qualify for the postseason, were they faced theNew York Yankees inALDS. Despite a overall subpar series, where he hit just .235 over the 5 games, Kennedy came up clutch in the decisive Game 5, hitting atriple off of futureHall of FamerMike Mussina in the second inning, driving in two runs to give the Angels a 3–2 lead that they would never relinquish. In2005 ALCS, Kennedy hit .286 for the series, but had just 4 hits and 1 RBI, as the Angels lost to theChicago White Sox in 5 games.
Kennedy's 2006 campaign was one filled with many question marks, as statistically he was closer to his numbers in his 2003 & 2004 seasons than his peaks in 2002 & 2005, as he hit .273 with 4 home runs and 55 RBIs. With his offensive performance declining, and being an impendingfree agent at the conclusion of the season, as well as top prospectHowie Kendrick rising through the minors, it was rumoured that the Angels would look to trade Kennedy at the trade deadline, most notably forShea Hillenbrand.[13] While the rumors never came to fruition, Kennedy was forced to share the startingsecond base position, playing in aplatoon with the rookie Kendrick for the remainder of the season.
The national spotlight shone briefly on Kennedy on August 16, 2006, when he took part in abench-clearing brawl in the ninth inning of a game between theTexas Rangers and the Angels.[14] Tensions between the two division rivals were already high, as two Rangers starting pitchers —Adam Eaton andVicente Padilla — had been ejected in previous games that month for throwing at Angels batters. Also, two Angels hurlers (Kevin Gregg andBrendan Donnelly) had already been thrown out of the game for hitting batters, and managerMike Scioscia and bench coachRon Roenicke had been ejected as well. Rangers pitcherScott Feldmanhit Kennedy in the buttocks with a fastball with only one out remaining in the game, and his team up 9–3.[15] Kennedy charged the mound, triggering a fight.[16] As Kennedy charged him, Feldman stood on the mound and threw down his glove, and when Kennedy reached him, Feldman then hit Kennedy in the armpit with a punch.[16] Kennedy was suspended for four games for his actions.
At the end of the 2006 season, Kennedy became a free agent and with Kendrick set to take over the starting spot at second base, Kennedy was informed bygeneral managerBill Stoneman that he would not be retained.[17]
In seven seasons with the Angels, Kennedy hit .280 in 992 games, with 51 home runs and 353 RBI.
On November 28, 2006, he signed a 3-year, $10 million contract with his former team, theSt. Louis Cardinals.[18]
On August 11, 2007, Kennedy was placed on the 15-daydisabled list with a tornmedial meniscus in his right knee, an injury that would sideline him for the remainder of the season.[19] He appeared in 87 games prior to the injury, and hit only .219, the lowest average of his career.
In 2008, he played in 115 games and hit .280 with just 2 home runs and 36 RBIs. Following the season, Kennedy requested a trade, stating that his desired role as a starter was not being fulfilled as the Cardinals acquiredFelipe López to play second base down the stretch.[20]
On February 9, 2009, 6 months after his trade request, Kennedy was released by the team with a year remaining on his contract.[21]
On February 17, 2009, Kennedy signed a minor league deal with theTampa Bay Rays.[22] The Rays assigned him to the AAADurham Bulls, his first minor league action since 2005. With the Bulls, he hit .280 in 23 games.[23]
On May 8, 2009, Kennedy was traded to theOakland Athletics forJoe Dillon.[24] His contract was purchased the next day. He appeared in 129 games for the Athletics, mostly at third base and second base, batting .289 with 11 home runs.[25]
On February 12, 2010, Kennedy signed with theWashington Nationals on 1-year, $1.75 million contract.[26] He played in 135 games for the Nationals, hitting .249. He mostly played second base, but also appeared in 51 games at first base, the first time he had seen any regular time at that position in his career.
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On January 10, 2011, Kennedy signed a minor-league contract with theSeattle Mariners.[27] He made the team out of spring training and served as a utility infielder, seeing action at first base, second base, and third base during the year while hitting .234 in 114 games. Midway through the season, he replaced former Angels teammateChone Figgins as the starting third baseman.[28] He elected free agency on October 30.
On December 1, 2011, Kennedy signed a one-year contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers.[29] In 86 games with the Dodgers, mostly as a pinch hitter (with occasional starts at second and third), Kennedy hit .262. A strained right groin put him on the disabled list and ended his season early, on September 11.[30]
After his playing career ended, Kennedy opened a baseball academy.[31]
