Steve Kemp
Although not drafted out of high school,Kemp became highly touted hitter while at the University of Southern California, Kemp was the first player chosen in the nation in the January 1976 draft. He won the Gold Medal with the USA in the 1974 Amateur World Series. Kemp was at USC at the same time as Roy Smalley and Rich Dauer, among other future major leaguers.

Rod Dedeaux on Steve Kemp:
Dedeaux had trained numerous major-leaguers-to-be during his 33-year tenure as Southern Cal's coach, and two of his most recent stars were Fred Lynn and Kemp. "Steve is one of the best power hitters we've had," says Dedeaux. "He and Freddie have quite a bit in common. Both showed signs while they were still playing at USC of being outstanding big-league batters. At this stage, Steve is more of a pure hitter. He has great power in his arms and wrists. Unlike Freddie, who is a rhythmic hitter with a quiet bat and short stride, Steve has an unorthodox style, but so did Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente."

In only one season in the minors, in 1976 he hit .289 in half a season at Montgomery and then .386 with a .696 SLG when moved up to the AAA Evansville Triplets. he was the Detroit Tigers' starting left fielder in 1977 and drove in 88 runs for the Tigers.

He had a looping, lefthanded batting stroke and was neither fast nor graceful in the field, but he made the AL All-Star team in 1979 when he hit .318 with 26 HR's and 105 RBI. Frequently cork-screwing himself into the ground with his violent swings, Steve Kemp was a promising young All-Star outfielder with the Tigers before his trade to the White Sox. Dealt after the 1981 season for Chet Lemon, Kemp never got on track away from Detroit, although he did drive in 98 runs for the White Sox he spent only one season in Chicago before signing with the Yankees as a free agent. His batting average wilted to .241 under the pressure of high expectations in New York, and after the 1984 season he was traded with Tim Foli to the Pirates for Dale Berra and Jay Buhner.


His major league career was shortened when he battled vision problems, after he was hit by a batting practice line drive in 1983 and developed a hemorrhage that left scar tissue on his left retina. He hit only three home runs in 105 games with Pittsburgh in 1985-86 before retiring. He finished his 11-year big league career with 130 homers and a .278 batting average.

He went back to the minors in 1986-88, hitting 20 home runs for the Oklahoma City 89ers in 1987 where he was managed by his former teammate Toby Harrah. He came back to the majors with the 1988 Rangers for 16 games in 1988.

In 1989, he played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He hit .329 in 60 games with the club.

Transactions
The Tigers trade of Kemp to the White Sox straight-up for Chet Lemon on November 27, 1981, was criticized by some Tiger watchers at the time. Both were 26 years old and were coming off decent years, Lemon having a slightly better season in '81. But Kemp was deemed a budding power-hitter and Lemon was looked at as a doubles-hitter with a good glove. But in Tiger Stadium, Lemon honed his power stroke and hit more homers. Kemp had one solid season for the ChiSox (19 homers, 98 RBI) and became a free agent. Still seen by many in baseball as a future superstar, Kemp earned a fat multi-million dollar contract from the Yankees. He was supposed to hit lots of homers down the short right field line. Instead, he got injured, struggled at the plate, and hit just 19 homers for the Yanks in two seasons. He ended his career fighting to stay in the majors with the Pirates and Rangers. Lemon served as the Tigers center fielder for nine seasons, roaming spacious center field at Tiger Stadium with his trusty glovework and providing clutch hits. Almost instantly, the likable Lemon became a fan favorite and fans forgot about Kemp.

Matchup BigData
Steve Kemp hit four homers off Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, and four off Dennis Leonard