Adam Kennedy: First choice at second base
By Rick Hummel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/17/2007
The Cards aggressively pursued Adam Kennedy (above), the player they traded away in 2000, signing him to a three-year deal when he became a free agent.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — In today's world of high finance in baseball, Cardinals second baseman Adam Kennedy rates as nearly a $10 million player. He had seven successful seasons with the Angels-by-whatever-name in Anaheim, was the most valuable player of the American League Championship Series in 2002 when he hit three home runs in the clinching game and is both an accomplished defender and base stealer.
The Cardinals, indeed, are paying Kennedy $10 million but, almost shockingly, that signing is for three seasons. When he became a free agent for the first time in his career after last season, Kennedy leaped at the chance of returning to the organization that had drafted him first in 1997, forfeiting the possibility —no, probability — he could have made more money elsewhere.
"Yeah, but I don't know about all that," Kennedy said. "I know that when I started that whole process of free agency, I put together a list of what's important, what would be the top priority. We had three (teams) at the top of our list and when one comes in fairly early with respectful conversations, especially here, it was a pretty easy decision."
Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, who both traded Kennedy and hired him back, said: "We made a decision that he was the player we were going to pursue for second base. We wanted to be aggressive. With free agents, you just never know what's going to happen. I've found that a lot of guys that if they're not real sure where they're going to go, if a club's aggressive, it's got a good chance. Advertisement
"I know he had talked to (David) Eckstein and Kennedy was excited about getting back to work with him (the two were teammates in Anaheim) and about getting back to this organization. In fact, when I traded him, I told him someday that I hoped to get him back."
Ever since Kennedy was traded along with righthander Kent Bottenfield to the Angels for Jim Edmonds in the spring of 2000, Kennedy, now 31, has wanted to return. Having come up to the Cardinals for a couple of months the season before, Kennedy never got a chance to confirm his status as a No. 1 pick.
"Absolutely," Kennedy said. "I feel I've got a lot to prove to (manager) Tony (La Russa) and his staff, to show them the things I learned from the minor-league staff when I was here."
The last time Kennedy appeared in a Cardinals uniform, La Russa was considering using him as a left fielder, unsure if the infielder, mostly accustomed to shortstop and third base, could play the other side of the infield.
"For a while there, I didn't know I could play second base," said Kennedy, who didn't really have any chance to do so in 2000 before he was dealt because the Cardinals traded for Milwaukee's Fernando Viña.
"Moving to the other side of the field ... it took me a while to just get the simplest thing of how the ball comes off the bat and to learn how to turn double plays," Kennedy said. "There were quite a few things I didn't know how to do.
"I went away and figured them out. It may not always have been pretty but there were ways to get it done."
Kennedy hasn't won a Gold Glove, but he's reached double figures in errors only once in the past four seasons. And many might be surprised to find out he stole more than 10 bases in all seven seasons he spent with the Angels, topping out at 22 twice.
Kennedy batted .273 last year, seven points under a respectable career mark of .280. A lot of that was done while hitting ninth in an American League lineup, where batting last isn't that much of a slap.
He will be promoted, sort of, to eighth in the Cardinals' lineup this season, because La Russa feels slow-running catcher Yadier Molina, who is difficult to bunt over, needs to hit seventh. La Russa also feels Kennedy has the discipline to hit ahead of the pitcher.
Kennedy won't be expected to provide much power in the bottom of the lineup. But there was one October day in 2002 when Kennedy put forth that Ruthian effort by becoming only one of five players (Babe Ruth did it twice) to hit three homers in one postseason game.
On the first Tuesday of this season, the 2006 Cardinals will receive their World Series rings. Kennedy, who has a Series ring (2002) of his own, won't get one this time. But Cardinals utilityman Aaron Miles said his teammates would take care of Kennedy. "We're going to give you one of the rings that we give to the fans," Miles cracked.
