Tony Kemp is Embracing His Veteran Leadership Role with the Saints

[Theodore Tollefson]

“I just want to be a part of someone’s journey, so that whenever they do make it, I can know I did help them out in some way." Read up on Tony Kemp's first month with the St. Paul Saints and his impact on younger players.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

St. Paul–Compared to his last several years, this one has been a hectic campaign of travel for Tony Kemp.

The 32-year-old utility man joined the Cincinnati Reds on a minor-league deal on Feb. 24. Nearly four weeks later, he was released by the Reds, and a week after that, the Baltimore Orioles signed him on a minor-league deal and added him to their Opening Day roster. 

But his stay in Baltimore would be brief as well. Kemp had only 10 plate appearances in five games for the O’s, and reached base only once over those five games, on a walk. Baltimore designated him for assignment on Apr. 10, as they called up MLB’s number-one prospect, Jackson Holliday, to make his MLB debut. 

“I think the hardest part about it is just moving your family around to all those different places,” Kemp said, as he reflected on his first two months of the 2024 season. “But by now, we’re used to the baseball life as I got drafted a minute ago.”

His time returning to baseball purgatory, waiting to find the next team, would once again be short-lived. After being let go by the Orioles. Kemp elected free agency on Apr. 13, and four days later, he signed a minor-league deal with the Twins. He's been with Triple-A St. Paul ever since. 

The Twins organization has garnered a reputation that Kemp has respected over the last few years; it’s one of the many reasons he signed a contract with them.

“As I said, this organization is good and there are a lot of good guys who are close to getting to the big leagues here that just want to get that taste and it’s cool to be a part of it,” said Kemp. 

One of the biggest additions that Kemp has brought to the Saints clubhouse is veteran leadership--something Saints manager Toby Gardenhire said had been absent during the first few weeks of the season. 

“Tony’s awesome,” said Gardenhire. “He brings a veteran leadership which we didn’t have at the start of the year. We’re really young, and it helps to have veteran guys in the clubhouse that have been around for a little while and understand the way everything works.”

Kemp recognizes the role he has within the Saints clubhouse, as it’s one he’s grown into over the last few seasons with the Oakland Athletics, as many more younger faces joined their roster while veteran teammates were traded away. 

“I feel like just being able to be myself and understand who I am over the last couple of years. Getting that veteran status, I guess you can say, but it’s one that you don’t take lightly and it’s a blessing to be in a place like this. Because this game is hard and everyone has a different journey throughout their career,” said Kemp. 

Coming from a franchise that has seen a lot of turnover in players (for better and for worse), Kemp has honed in on what makes him approachable for the younger guys. 

“The biggest thing is to get a relationship that everyone is comfortable with," Kemp said. "When you’re talking about someone’s career, you want to be sensitive to how they take in criticism. But I just want to be a guy that anybody can bounce what they’re feeling off of.”

The younger players have already taken advantage of Kemp’s mentorship and wisdom. Whether it’s Matt Wallner (who’s returned to St. Paul for a full reset with his swing at the plate), or a player like Anthony Prato who is still itching for that first chance at the major leagues. Kemp has been their guy to approach for insight about what it takes.

“I just want to be a part of someone’s journey, so that whenever they do make it, I can know I did help them out in some way,” Kemp reflected.

“He can talk to the young guys about a bunch of different things. The ups and downs of baseball are really hard," Gardenhire said. "When you have guys who have been around a long time and can steer the ship a little bit, it really helps, and Tony’s great for that.”

One player currently on the Twins' current big-league roster Kemp has already done that for is Austin Martin. Kemp and Martin are fellow alumni of Vanderbilt, and shortly after Martin was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2020, he spent his offseason working out with Kemp.

“I was able to pick his brain then,” said Martin on his relationship with Kemp. “But he’s just a guy that, me personally, I feel like he goes about everything the right way. As someone I gravitated to while I was in college and outside of college, it’ll be the same thing." 

Martin only had two games in the Saints clubhouse alongside Kemp, before he was recalled to the Twins once again on May 3. Martin wasted no time reuniting with his old friend.

“That’s a guy who has a lot of knowledge, he has a lot of experience in this game at the highest level. So just being able to pick his brain and seeing how he goes about his business will only help me,” said Martin.

Kemp’s time with the Saints isn’t his first stint playing ball in Minnesota. He spent the summer of 2011 playing for the Northwoods League's Rochester Honkers, flashing his glove across the diamond at Mayo Field. 

“I’ve always enjoyed Minnesota, and I am still in contact with my host family from Rochester," said Kemp.

Like every player in Triple-A, Kemp is doing all he can to get his next opportunity in the majors. His 16 games with the Saints haven’t been eye-catching with his stats, as he has a triple slash of .192/.354/.269 in 52 at-bats. But the numbers are not what Kemp is fixating on. 

“It was only nine or ten at-bats with the Orioles, but a couple of lineouts mixed in," he said. "There were some unlucky things that were involved with my season last year I didn’t think much about, and just kind of got rid of all that stuff, moved on and I am working to better myself and I think that comes with not dwelling on the negative.” 

The positive stat among all those mentioned is his on-base percentage, at .354. Kemp has drawn a walk for every strikeout with the Saints (12 apiece), and it’s that makeup of patience that is helping him get on the right trajectory for himself while also being the veteran mentor in the clubhouse.

“I’m not the home-run hitter. I am the guy who gets on base for the home-run hitter. I feel like I’ve been able to stick around because of that.”

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[Patzky]

Everyone has a place, and everyone in their place. Nice story about a good guy!

[FlyingFinn]

Love these stories. Makes me think of Crash Davis in Bull Durham. Maybe Tony Kemp has a future in coaching.