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For starters, Kemp is instantly the veteran in the clubhouse. This will be his 14th Major League season and fourth big league team.
Earlier this week he sat down and gave some thoughts on his new team and what he can bring to the lineup on a regular basis.
Q: What are your impressions of this team as you come over from the Dodgers?
A: “It’s still early, we still have a lot of work to do. We definitely have some unbelievable players on this team. The Reds made a lot of moves this year to help this team win. I know playing against them last year I think we only beat them one time so they did a pretty good job against a really good team. To add me, Puig, Wood and Roark — we have a lot of veteran guys coming over to help this team win.”
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Q: You’ve changed teams a few times now. Is it difficult to make that transition?
A: “It’s a little bit easier. As you get a little older you get used to it, but having some familiar faces over here helps a lot. I still have the same hitting coach (Turner Ward). I’ve known Puig for a long time, it’s a little bit of the same …not that much of a difference.”
Q: How important is playing time to you?
A: “It’s very important. I can do nothing sitting on the bench. My job is to drive in runs. That’s something I’ve been trying to do my whole career is make things happen and drive in runs. Playing time is what I want to do. I don’t want to sit on the bench and watch baseball.”
Q: You seem like a guy who is comfortable with men on base (while) some guys don’t deal with that as well?
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A: “I came up with some guys who taught be how to drive in runs. Driving in runs is fun. Some guys are scared to do it. I like runners in scoring position and I like to try and make things happen, put some runs on the board and give our pitchers some cushion to go out there and do their thing.”
Q: You’ve accomplished a lot in your career, is there anything left for you to prove?
A: “I just want to prove to all these guys that older guys can still play baseball. There’s a lot of free agents out there that are over 30 that they don’t think can play anymore. When I came up as a player, guys who were 33, 34, 35 were in the prime of their careers and they were doing a lot of great things in this game. Veteran leadership is very important. I learned from those guys and I hope to follow in their footsteps and teach some of these younger guys how to play the right way and lead and try to win as many games as we can.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Reds vs. Indians, 3 p.m., 700
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