The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp doing a lot better here than with Padres
In his first game at San Diego since the Padres traded him to the Braves, Matt Kemp went 0 for 4 with a strikeout Tuesday night, including going 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position. This pleased what seemed to be a majority of fans in attendance at Petco Park, judging from the boisterous round of boos Kemp received upon being intro- duced each time he came to bat.
Kemp used to hurt the Padres a lot during his nine years with the Dodgers before being traded to San Diego before the 2015 season. He’s been significantly more productive for the Braves since being traded from the Padres in last July, so he couldn’t have been surprised by the reception he received.
And judging from his reaction to questions by a couple of San Diego media members during a rather uncomfortable interview at his locker a few hours before the game, Kemp also didn’t seem surprised by the tone of their questions. Several of them stemmed from his “Hello Atlanta” letter published by The Players’ Tribune after the trade.
The Padres have had immense roster churn in the past couple of seasons. The only Padre who appeared in both Tuesday’s series-opening loss to the Braves and Kemp’s last game for the Padres was All-Star Wil Myers, who was asked by a San Diego writer to comment on Kemp upon his first trip back to play in San Diego.
“Matt Kemp is a guy who was born to hit,” Myers said. “He’s going to put up offensive numbers every single year. He’s going to hit 30 (homers) and drive in 100, because those are the things he takes pride in.”
When about defense: “Dude can hit,” Myers said, “and that’s all that matters.”
Those of us who cover the Braves have had no problems with Kemp since he arrived. He’s not the most available player in terms of interviews, but he’s there far more often than not when we want to speak to him. He can be funny and engaging with reporters, as he is seemingly all the time with teammates. He’s been embraced by teammates such as Freddie Freeman from Day 1. His playful, sometimes loud personality has been an integral part of a clubhouse chemistry that every player says has helped them in the past couple of years, both in finishing strong in a 2016 season that started in dismal fashion and overcoming some rough patches early this season.
Despite cooling off in June, Kemp still has a .315 average, .356 OBP, and .538 slugging percentage for an .894 OPS, with 32 extra-base hits (12 homers) and 35 RBIs in 63 games. The average would be his highest since 2011, when the Dodgers center fielder was the MVP runner-up after hitting .324 with career-bests in homers (39), RBIs (126) and OPS (.986). He was a firsttime All-Star and won his second Gold Glove and second Silver Slugger award that year at Los Angeles.
Kemp reported to spring training this year in better shape and started out blazing when the season began, hitting .352 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and a .387 OBP, .614 slugging percentage and 1.001 OPS in his first 42 games through June 2, despite an April stint on the disabled list for a hamstring strain.
In his past 21 games dating to June 3, Kemp has hit .227 (17 for 75) with four doubles, two homers, five RBIs, a .284 OBP and .360 slugging percentage (.644 OPS). He has one homer, three RBIs and no multi-hit games in his past 10. But the Braves are 7-3 in those games, another sign of how others have stepped forward to carry the load on any given night in the absence of the two sluggers in the middle, Kemp and star Freeman, who’s been out six weeks with a fractured wrist.
With the Padres, Kemp hit .264 with a modest .763 OPS but had 46 homers and 169 RBIs in 254 games. That included 156 games in 2015 after being traded from the Dodgers in the offseason and 100 games in 2016 before he was traded to the Braves, who were looking to dump the toxic contract of Hector Olivera while the Padres were ready to move on without Kemp. The Olivera trade — it cost the Braves Alex Wood and Jose Peraza — was the worst the Braves have made in years. But at least they ended up a year later with Kemp, albeit after taking on more money to cover about $18 million annually of his $21.5 million salary in a contract that runs through 2019.