Dodgers: Matt Kemp Is Your 2018 NL Comeback Player of The Year
Things have come full circle. And the Los Angeles Dodgers have more hardware in their trophy case to boast about. Matt Kemp has been named the 2018 National League Comeback Player of the Year. The award was voted on by his fellow players in the National League.
Here is the clip from the player’s association official twitter account to commemorate Kemp’s lofty achievement:
After an offseason trade brought him back to his roots, he spent the 2018 season thriving in the heart of the @Dodgers lineup hitting .290 BA | 21 HR | 85 RBI.
Your 2018 National League Comeback Player is @TheRealMattKemp!#PlayersChoiceAwards2018
https://t.co/acExc4wdx2 pic.twitter.com/ugTonEQm1U
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) November 28, 2018
Nevertheless, Kemp was thought to be a footnote after a trade brought him from the Atlanta Braves to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Moreover, there were whispers the Dodgers were looking to unload him in a trade for further salary relief.
Then, Kemp just sort of played his way into relevancy with the 2018 Dodgers. He homered in their first game of the spring. During stretches in the season’s first half, he helped carry an inconsistent offense. His .874 OPS and .310 average saw him named to the All-Star team for the first time since 2012.
In all, Kemp finished with a .290 average and 21 home runs. Several of the regular season’s most prominent moments were his doing. It ended up being a romantic homecoming.
Kemp is the second Dodger to win this player’s choice award since Nomar Garciaparra took it home in 2006.
He didn’t have the best 2nd half but was pretty good considering he wasn’t suppose to make the opening day roster.
The pretty much stopped using him in second half except for an occasional start and pinch hitting. Then he was used even less during post season. Other than Turner he was Dodgers best hitter and still led team in RBIs. He hit both righties and lefties, higher against righties I think, yet barely started against righties the last third of season due to the extreme platooning. IMO, in 2019 Kemp should get bulk of time in LF, platoon Joc and Kike in CF with Puig in RF. Move Bellinger back to 1B. Trade Muncy and Taylor while value is high. Sign or trade for a short term 2B until Lux is ready.
I think the school of thought was that he has too many miles on him. I’m sure he even asked for days off because he’s probably exhausted. He’s going to be 35 next year, so I don’t expect him to be a full-time player no matter where he goes. His second half numbers showed it big time in 2018.