The old kid Kemp finds certainty on Opening Day
by Cary Osborne
There was a skip — a familiar skip out of the dugout.
And later, a familiar pine tar stain on the left shoulder of the jersey.
Even his home in the Dodger clubhouse was familiar. The corner locker on the west side was his for most of his previous stint as a Dodger. He’s now one locker over.
It’s where Matt Kemp stood after the Dodgers’ 1–0 loss to the Giants on Thursday on Opening Day of the 2018 season.
Certainly, there was uncertainty as to if Kemp would be here after the Dodgers acquired him on Dec. 16 in a trade with Atlanta.
Uncertainty died with a strong spring with Kemp earning a spot on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster.
He yearned to be here, and now there is a familiar smile back in town.
“When I got traded I was excited to come back. It was crazy,” Kemp said. “I had to work hard in the offseason and then go into Spring Training to work hard and show them what type of player I’m capable of being. … I’m just glad to be back.”
The Dodgers had a quiet offensive day. Kemp didn’t hit a dramatic homer in his return to Dodger blue. He didn’t knock in a run or make a spectacular play. But in his first game as a Dodger since Game 4 of the National League Division Series, he gave the Dodgers a chance to make things happen. In his first plate appearance, he walked with one out in the second inning. In his final of four plate appearances, he led off the ninth inning with a sharp single to center field.
Kemp said when he reached first base, he thought about how special his return would be if the Dodgers made something out of his final hit and walked off with a victory.
“That would have been epic,” he said.
But for one of the most prolific hitters in Los Angeles Dodgers history, he got his new beginning on Thursday and a chance to add to his history as a Dodger.
He said it felt like home when he skipped out of the dugout during the Opening Day traditional pregame player announcements.
“It was exciting,” Kemp said of being announced to the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium. “I think every home game in Dodger blue has been special, but this one was up there with the best of them. Just exciting to be back out there with the fans — those familiar faces. To go back out there and put that jersey on.”
And just like 2006, when Kemp was a Dodger rookie, he got a few firsts out of the way.
“I definitely don’t feel like a rookie,” Kemp laughed. “I feel like a kid out there, but not a rookie. I feel like an old kid.”
