Now that Matt Kemp has committed to stay with the Dodgers for eight more years, he has etched himself into franchise history. He already made his mark with a stellar 2011 season, but Kemp now has a chance to eclipse some Dodgers career records (hat tip to Phil Gurnee on Monday for the idea).
Let's take a look at where Kemp could end up in the Dodgers record book.
Games Played
Franchise record: Zack Wheat, 2,322
Los Angeles record: Bill Russell, 2,181 (2nd)
Kemp: 787 (53rd all-time, 28th in LA)
If Kemp averaged 150 games per season for eight years, he would be at 1,987 career games, which would rank fourth in franchise history (also behind Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges) and second in Los Angeles history.
Playing in all 162 games for the entirety of the contract would put Kemp at 2,083 games, which is ahead of Hodges (2,006 games) but would also put Kemp's consecutive games played streak at 1,661 games, a National League record and a mere 971 games behind Cal Ripken!
Plate Appearances
Franchise record: Zack Wheat, 9,720
Los Angeles record: Willie Davis, 8,035 (4th)
Kemp: 3,158 (51st all-time, 26th in LA)
Kemp would need to average 610 plate appearances per season to surpass Davis. Kemp has averaged 670 PA in the last four seasons.
Hits
Franchise record: Zack Wheat, 2,804
Los Angeles record: Willie Davis, 2,091 (3rd)
Kemp: 840 (44th all-time, 23rd in LA)
Kemp needs to average 156 hits per year over the next eight years to catch Willie Davis. Over the last four seasons, Kemp has averaged 175 hits per season.
Runs Scored
Franchise record: Pee Wee Reese, 1,338
Los Angeles record: Willie Davis, 1,004 (6th)
Kemp: 464 (41st all-time, 16th in LA)
Kemp seems like a lock (knock on wood) to catch Davis, perhaps within five years. To catch Reese, Kemp needs to score 109 runs per year for eight years, or 874 runs. The most runs ever by a Dodger in an eight-year period is 875, scored by Duke Snider from 1949-1956.
RBI
Franchise record: Duke Snider, 1,271
Los Angeles record: Steve Garvey, 992 (5th)
Kemp: 457 (33rd all-time, 17th in LA)
With runs and RBI records in Los Angeles right around 1,000, those are easy pickings for Kemp. But for the franchise mark, he will need to average 102 RBI per season over the life of the contract.
Total Bases
Franchise record: Zack Wheat, 4,003
Los Angeles record: Willie Davis, 3,094 (4th)
Kemp: 1,420 (38th all-time, 21st in LA)
Kemp needs to average 209 total bases per year to catch Davis, and 323 total bases per season to catch Wheat. Kemp has averaged 300 total bases over the last four years.
Home Runs
Franchise record: Duke Snider, 389
Los Angeles record: Eric Karros, 270 (3rd)
Kemp: 128 (20th all-time,13th in LA)
Karros is a very reachable goal for Kemp, but there is a slight chance Kemp could catch Snider. To catch The Duke, Kemp needs just under 33 home runs per year.
Doubles
Franchise record: Zack Wheat, 464
Los Angeles record: Steve Garvey, 333 (3rd)
Kemp: 140 (42nd all-time, 22nd in LA)
Kemp needs 24 doubles per year to catch Garvey, 25 per season to catch Hodges for second place (343), and 40.5 doubles per year to catch Wheat. Kemp has averaged 30 doubles per season over the last four seasons.
Extra-Base Hits
Franchise record: Duke Snider, 814
Los Angeles record: Willie Davis, 585 (4th)
Kemp: 296 (29th all-time, 14th in LA)
Kemp has 254 total bases in his last four years, an average of 63.5 per year. To catch Zack Wheat for second place (766), Kemp needs to average 59 per year. To catch Gil Hodges for third place (703), Kemp would need 51 extra-base hits per year.
Walks
Franchise record: Pee Wee Reese, 1,210
Los Angeles record: Ron Cey, 765
Kemp: 250 (57th all-time, 31st in LA)
Kemp has been pretty consistent in taking unintentional walks (40, 46, 49, and 50 in the last four years), but he added 24 intentional passes this season to reach a career high of 74 bases on balls. To catch The Penguin, The Bison needs to average just over 64 walks per season over the next eight years.
Stolen Bases
Franchise & Los Angeles record: Maury Wills, 490
Kemp: 144 (24th)
Asking Kemp to catch Wills (43 steals per year) is a bit much, especially as Kemp ages, but he can still achieve great heights on this list. To catch Willie Davis for third place (335 steals), Kemp needs to average 24 swipes per year. If he is feeling frisky, Kemp can catch Davey Lopes for second place (418 steals) with 34 steals per year.
Okay, Matt. Those are your goals. No pressure or anything.
Thanks as always to Baseball-Reference.com.