LOS ANGELES — Three years ago, Matt Kemp was in the conversation as the best player in baseball.
He led the National League in runs scored, home runs and RBIs in 2011 and finished runner-up to Ryan Braun for the NL MVP — a controversial vote at the time. After the season, he was rewarded handsomely. The Dodgers signed him to an eight-year, $160 million contract extension that was the largest in National League history at the time.
Two injury-ravaged seasons ensued with Kemp’s production dropping precipitously.
He has finally rebounded with a strong second half in 2014. But Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said it is “not fair” to expect Kemp to be the same player he was in 2011.
“I don’t know if we should be trying to compare and go back three years,” Mattingly said. “He’s doing the job. He’s swinging the bat well. Going back three years is not fair — three years of age, three years of injuries.
“You’re going back three years, you’re going back to the best year of his career with ankle surgery and shoulder surgery in between. Guys change every year. Honestly, this is him getting back to the player he’s been his whole career.”
Kemp was hobbled by hamstring, shoulder and ankle injuries that limited him to a total of 179 games over the past two seasons. He had two shoulder surgeries and microfracture surgery on his ankle that has clearly robbed him of his speed.
Since the All-Star break, though, Kemp is batting .307 with 11 home runs (including one in Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks) and 33 RBIs.
“I think I still have it in me,” Kemp said of the 2011 standard. “It’s all about getting healthy, getting my legs back under me.”