Kemp strives to improve without his buddy Gattis
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Without the big guy to wrap his arms around, the little man will have to keep spreading home run love in the dugout without him.
For all the Astros’ hammy and swaggy celebrations last year, none captured their collective boyish spirit like the hugs for homers Tony Kemp inspired when he leapt into Evan Gattis’ arms and clung to him like a koala bear.
Kemp, the Astros’ 5-6 spark plug and platoon outfielder, started a tradition that flourished with other players — and led to a bobblehead of him hugging Jose Altuve the Astros will give away this season — but it will not have the same charm without the bigbearded 270-pound Gattis around.
Gattis is an unsigned free agent.
“It’s going to be a little bit sad,” Kemp said. “Obviously I’m going to miss my big friend.”
Gattis caught fire in May, when he slugged six homers and TV cameras first focused on the hugs that followed, but his responsibilities as a backup catcher had been revoked and he would lose the designated hitter spot as his production fizzled in August. At 32, he was too slow, inconsistent and dispensable for what the Astros needed, but he never complained about his relegation.
Kemp, 27, figured out how to crack the roster by leaving the infield for a commitment to the outfield and hustling out plays like his job depended on it. Their hug reflected a shared approach to baseball. They embraced each other as firmly as they did whatever role the Astros gave them.
“We text every now and then,” Kemp said. “We can still have that friendship. He’s still searching for a job and a team that’s best fit for him.”
Meanwhile, Kemp has found the best way to fit in on a loaded team. Thursday, as starter Collin McHugh pitched, in center field Kemp made small steps toward his major focus this spring. Staring at the batter, Kemp kept his feet mincing, his momentum going, creeping in, drifting a bit into right-center, and then bolting in whichever direction balls in play dictated he go.
These would be the instinctive moves of a lifetime outfielder, but Kemp, a natural on the infield, has had to work hard to plant roots in the outfield grass. That is the only way he has cut it in the majors for the Astros.
Last season, Kemp played 61 games in left field and 32 in right. His athleticism compensated for the indirect paths he took to track down difficult fly balls, which made his catches ideal for highlights but made him look more like a wide receiver running squiggly routes.
“This year we’re working on pre-pitch setup, so I can get better reads on the ball,” he said.
If he can get into position and a rhythm on his feet earlier, before the ball “enters the hitting zone,” Kemp can project the flight path better and gain the steps needed to stay on his feet for easier catches.
Kemp got a lot of different looks at balls Thursday. McHugh gave up six runs and seven hits in 2<AF>2/3<XA> innings.
Kemp also stole second base in the third inning. He wants to be more active on the bases this year, so he hired his former speed coach from Vanderbilt during the offseason to improve his explosiveness out of the box and on jumps for steals.
“It worked,” Kemp said. “Just another thing that you can add to your game.”
He said he ran conservatively last season because he worried that messing up might cost him playing time.
“Sometimes you get caught up in the role,” he said. “You just want to play the game at a pace to where you don’t really cause a stir.”
Kemp was not on shaky ground with his manager.
“You come out of the minor leagues, where he was probably batting first or second every single day, he comes to the big leagues, really with no idea when he will get to play,” A.J. Hinch said. “If he got to pinch hit, it was probably against an elite reliever trying to start a rally. He got really good at it. He started to force his way into the lineup more and more as the season progressed. He went from a purely bench player in ’16 and ‘17 to starting a game in the ALCS.”
He started three of five games against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series and slashed .273/.429/.636. His 1.065 OPS in the series was second best on the team to George Springer’s 1.125.
“Just when you need that spark, you play him in a day game and he provides it,” Hinch said. “He became very reliable that way. If you need somebody to get on base down a run or in a tie game, he’s your guy.”
He will have to continue being that guy for another two months if he wants to seize the fifth outfield spot on the roster, which Hinch could give to him or Jake Marisnick. The Astros have enough days off in April to carry the crowd of outfielders, but they likely will want to shed one of them to call up another pitcher by May.
Kemp and Marisnick are out of options. It seems the Astros will have to let one of them go and accept that another team will pick the player up off the waivers.
“I'm just going to go out there and play my best every day,” Kemp said.
He watched Gattis. He saw a veteran go from hot to not needed. His big friend is gone, within reach by phone but no longer by an arm’s length.
“In this game, you can’t assume anything,” Kemp said. “The goal is to be on the opening-day roster.”
He will embrace whatever happens after that.