Athletics look up to Tony Kemp as veteran presence during difficult times

Tony Kemp weathered a brutal slump and the way he handled it was a lesson that wasn't lost on younger teammates.

Things are looking up for Tony Kemp, although you’d never know it from talking to him.

The guy A’s players look up to probably more than any other is a 5-foot-6, 160-pound second baseman/outfielder who had to be wondering whether his roster spot was secure with a batting average of .146 and an on-base percentage of .244 through his first 51 games.

And it’s not because Kemp has since broken out of his slump, hitting .340 with an on-base percentage of .418 over his last 16 games with the A’s heading to Detroit and Boston on a six-game road trip before the All-Star break.

To the contrary, when Kemp was at his lowest point statistically, he was setting an example of every-day professionalism that likely kept him on the roster.

“I feel like part of being a vet is carrying yourself in a certain way,” Kemp said Sunday after the A’s lost 8-7 to the Chicago White Sox. “You don’t want to be that guy where you’re getting hits and you act one way and you’re not getting hits and you act another way.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay groups infielders Aledmys Diaz and Jace Peterson in with Kemp who have provided the leadership necessary on a young team, but it’s clear Kemp’s attitude during the bad times made him a poster child for grace and perspective through adversity.

“I think the young guys watching him go through that stretch he went through, not playing, not playing in the lineup consistently, was great for their growth as well,” Kotsay said.

Kemp is playing regularly again, and has assumed the leadoff spot of late as rookie Esteury Ruiz has been dropped to No. 9 in the order. His play has helped the A’s go 11-13 in their last 24 games, which isn’t cause for a parade but a big improvement for a team with 23-63 record that is the worst in the major leagues.

The A’s are on pace for a 43-119 record and .265 winning percentage as they visit Detroit, the same record the Tigers had in 2003 as one of the last two major league teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290. (The 1962 Mets — at 40-120 and .250 — are the other).

The Tigers were in the World Series by 2006, and while it looks unlikely the A’s could be American League contenders in three years with the franchise in location limbo and committed to Las Vegas, Kemp sees no point in looking that far into the future.

Kemp shows occasional disappointment — he spent some time in the dugout with his head in his hands after Sunday’s loss to Chicago — but quickly hides those emotions by the time he’s back in the clubhouse.

“You’ve got to trust the process because if you don’t you’re just going to go into a spiral,” Kemp said. “No one is going to feel sorry for you, so you might as well come in here every day with the confidence that every time you step in the box you’re going to get a hit and every time you step in on defense you’re going to try and save some runs any way you can.

“That’s the message I’m giving to younger guys, which is always to try and stay in the saddle.”

A star at Vanderbilt, Kemp, 31, was a fifth-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 2012. He worked his way through the system and spent parts of four seasons with the big club before being traded to the Chicago Cubs during the 2019 season for catcher Martin Maldonado.

Kemp was a spectator when the Astros won the World Series in 2017 and saw playoff time in 2018 when they lost the American League Championship Series. And whatever misgivings one has about the Astros sign-stealing scandal that was going in in 2017, Kemp got to see a lot of quality players win a lot of games.

“Just watching guys when I was a rookie coming up like (Jose) Altuve and (George) Springer and Michael Brantley, when they struggled, they were the same person,” Kemp said. “They never really wavered.”

Kemp eventually landed in Oakland after being designated for assignment by the Cubs and traded for infield Alphonso Rivas and is always available for advice and counsel.

“Tony is a guy I’ve talked to a lot at various stages of the season, at times when I was going well, at times when I was not going well and really struggling,” A’s All-Star outfielder/DH Brent Rooker said. “Watching him go about his business every day, being a professional, a leader in the clubhouse, definitely rubs off on the guys. He’s an amazing dude to have as a leader on our team.”

If the A’s were to put out a “how to be a good teammate” handbook,” Kemp would probably be asked to write the foreword.

“You have to learn how to deal with those pressures of going out there and trying to perform in a game that is built on failure,” Kemp said. “You’ve got to come in each day and feel thankful you get to put on a big league uniform and play on a big league field.

“One day it’s going to be over and you’re not going to want to sit at home and be upset that you didn’t give it your all or come with your best attitude every day.”