Matt Kemp, nicknamed “The Bison”, is a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2006 before moving to the San Diego Padres and then the Atlanta Braves before returning to the Dodgers.
Over the course of his league career, he has not only contributed to the various clubs he has played for but has also received a number of individual awards.
Matt Kemp Biography and Age
The Dodgers’ outfielder was born Matthew Ryan Kemp on September 23, 1984, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. He was raised by his mother, Judy Henderson, a registered nurse, and his grandmother. His father, Carl Kemp, who never married his mother, has worked as a Field Supervisor at OG&E for over 30 years.
Kemp grew up in Oklahoma, where he attended Midwest City High School. There he played both baseball and basketball, for which he later received a scholarship to play for the Oklahoma Sooners. While still in high school, Kemp and his other teammates were accused of raping a woman during a basketball tournament. However, due to a lack of evidence, no charges were brought.
When it came time to make a serious career decision, Kemp chose baseball over basketball. In 2003, he participated in the MLB draft and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 6th round. On June 5 of the same year, he signed for the team that received a $130,000 bonus.
Matt Kemp began his career in the Minor League with the Gulf Coast Dodgers. From there he continued his career the following year with the Columbus Catfish and then from 2004 to 2005 with the Vero Beach Dodgers. There he made the leap to the Florida State League All-Star Team. In 2006, he was successful with the AA Jacksonville Suns, and thanks to this success, he received the reputation of playing in the Major League.
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Kemp played for the Dodgers until 2014 when he was traded to Yasmani Grandal, Zach Eflin, and Joe Wieland alongside Tim Federowicz and $32 million for the San Diego Padres. In 2016 he was traded for Héctor Olivera with the Atlanta Braves. While he would do well for the Braves, this time he would again be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, Charlie Culberson, and Adrián González, as well as for cash.
The best year Matt Kemp had in the MLB was 2011 when he was named RBI leader of the NL and home run leader of the NL. In the same year, he also won the Hank Aaron Award of the NL as well as the second of his two Gold Glove Awards and the Silver Slugger Award. In addition, the outfield player made the leap to the 3 All-Stars and in 2015 he was added to the class of players who beat for the cycle.
Matt Kemp Net Worth
Kemp can easily be described as a very successful baseball player, and despite all his efforts, he has a net worth estimated at over $71 million. Based on the $160 million contracts he signed in 2012, which will run until 2019, his salary for 2018 is over $21 million.
Wife, Girlfriend, Son
When it comes to the relationship side of things, Kemp had his own fair share of the drama. He was with Felisha Terrell between 2007 and 2008. After their relationship ended, Terrell, who claimed that Kemp had abused her, filed a restraining order against the baseball star.
Later, however, she dropped the charges because her statements were false, according to Matt’s agent. Terrell’s attorney would continue to insist that his client had not lied.
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Another woman with whom Kemp was to be associated was Zena Foster, with whom he was dating from 2008 to 2009. Following the model’s example, he entered into another relationship with the American pop star Rihanna in 2010. The two did not date for long before they broke up. The next one was Khloe Kardashian, with whom he allegedly dated briefly in 2013. The last time he was associated with the Instagram model, Amber Alvarez, was in 2018.
However, Kemp does not have a wife, as he is not married yet, and he does not have a son or daughter.
Matt Kemp Height and Weight
Kemp is a good-looking man with a lot of class and style. He also has a very good height and body weight, which helped him to succeed in basketball before he decided to settle down as a baseball player. He has a good height of 1.93 m (6 feet 4 inches) and a bodyweight of 201 lbs.