| Kevin Kennedy | |
|---|---|
_-_San_Antonio_Missions_-_1988.jpg) Kennedy in 1988 | |
| Manager | |
| Born: (1954-05-26)May 26, 1954 (age 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games managed | 582 |
| Managerial record | 309–273 |
| Winning percentage | .531 |
| Teams | |
| |
Kevin Curtis Kennedy (born May 26, 1954) is an American former player,coach, andmanager in professionalbaseball. Following an eight-season playing career inMinor League Baseball, he managed for 12 seasons in the minor leagues and four seasons inMajor League Baseball (two seasons each with theTexas Rangers andBoston Red Sox). After his managerial career, Kennedy worked as a baseball commentator, including forESPN,Fox Sports, theTampa Bay Rays, andLos Angeles Dodgers.
Born in Los Angeles, Kevin Kennedy graduated fromTaft High School inWoodland Hills, California in 1972, where he was a classmate ofRobin Yount.[1]
He attendedSan Diego State University and was drafted by theBaltimore Orioles in the 8th round of the1976 Major League Baseball Draft.
Kennedy was a careerminor leaguecatcher who played in the Orioles,St. Louis Cardinals andLos Angeles Dodgersfarm systems. In 510 career games, he hit .238 with 12 homers and 178 RBI. While with thePawtucket Red Sox in 1981, he was the only player from either team to not play in thelongest professional baseball game (33 innings) versus theRochester Red Wings.[citation needed]
Kennedy retired from playing after the 1983 season.
Kennedy became amanager in the Dodgers farm system for theGreat Falls Dodgers (1984–1986),Bakersfield Dodgers (1987),San Antonio Missions (1988) andAlbuquerque Dukes (1989–1991). He was subsequently thebench coach for theMontreal Expos during their1992 season.
Kennedy was hired to manage theTexas Rangers for their1993 season after the firing ofBobby Valentine andToby Harrah. Kennedy was let go following thestrike-shortened1994 season after posting only a 52–62 record (even though, at the time of the strike, it was good enough for first place in the division) and was replaced byJohnny Oates.
Kennedy became the manager of theBoston Red Sox for their1995 season. He led them to their first postseason appearance since 1990, but they were swept by theCleveland Indians in theDivision Series. Kennedy was fired following the1996 season after the team finished third in their division and missed the playoffs.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TEX | 1993 | 162 | 86 | 76 | .531 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| TEX | 1994 | 114 | 52 | 62 | .456 | 1st in AL West | – | – | – | Season canceled |
| TEX total | 276 | 138 | 138 | .500 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| BOS | 1995 | 144 | 86 | 58 | .597 | 1st in AL East | 0 | 3 | .000 | LostALDS (CLE) |
| BOS | 1996 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS total | 306 | 171 | 135 | .559 | 0 | 3 | .000 | |||
| Total[2] | 582 | 309 | 273 | .531 | 0 | 3 | .000 | |||
In 1997 Kennedy joinedESPN as acolor analyst on the network'sWednesday Night Baseball telecasts, performing the same role onESPN Radio'sSunday Night Baseball in 1998 and onFox Sports Net'sThursday Night Baseball in 1999 and 2000. From 2001 to 2008, he was a studio analyst for baseball onFox, teaming with hostJeanne Zelasko. He also contributed to Fox Sports Net'sBest Damn Sports Show Period and hosted a radio program onFOX Sports Radio, and was a regular co-host ofDodgers Live onPrime Ticket at this time. He was given the nickname "the Skipper" by Fox Sports due to his prior managerial career.
In 2009, Kennedy took a job as a part-time television analyst for theTampa Bay Rays, sharing the duty with former Rays pitcherBrian Anderson. Kennedy and Anderson both replacedJoe Magrane. Kennedy returned to the Dodgers' postgame show for the 2009 postseason. In October 2010, it was announced that Kennedy would not be returning to the Rays' broadcast crew for the 2011 season.[3]
Kevin co-hostedPower Alley withJim Duquette onSirius XM'sMLB Network Radio in 2011. From 2014 through 2018, Kennedy teamed withRick Monday to call select games on theDodgers Radio Network and occasionally co-hosted the team'sDodger Talk radio post-game show.
In October 2019, Kennedy started doing podcasts ofThe Kevin Kennedy Show[4] with Rich Grisham ofOut of the Park Baseball and launched anofficial website where he teaches baseball instruction videos, has a blog, and hosts Q&A with fans.
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| Other | |