The 26-year old corner outfielder and first baseman Andrew Kennedy is having something of a breakout season for the Brewers in 1973.
He is currently 5th in the MGL in batting average and hits and 1st in doubles. He is on pace for a WAR of 4.3. His previous high, in 1970, was 2.1.
Andrew Kennedy was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Mud Hens out of Brooklyn, NY Automotive High School in the 7th round of the 1965 draft. He joined the Brewers organization as a throw-in player in a May 1966 trade in which the principle players were veteran outfielder/first baseman Pablo Gonzales going to Philadelphia in exchange for left-handed pitcher Joey Brown. It ended up being a good trade for the Brewers, but even more so with the development of Kennedy. Gonzalez played in 58 games, with mostly poor results, for Philly in 1966 and then retired. Brown provided some pitching depth for the Brewers rotation in 1966 before leaving at the end of the season via free agency. Eventually he would return to Philadelphia and give them 2 very good season, including a 20-win campaign in 1969. At age 39, he is currently working out the Phoenix Speed Devils bullpen and though he is considered fragile at this stage and his stuff is sub-par he remains a useful player with his great control and good movement.
All of the other players involved in this trade, with the exception of Andrew Kennedy, either had very short-lived WPK careers (though Andy Wing, with his great defensive skills in the outfield, did play in parts of 5 seasons) and are either retired or currently playing in the minors with little hope to ever make the bigs.
But while Andrew Kennedy has never been a top prospect, even in the eyes of the Brewers scouting team, he has long been a favorite of the Brewers GM/Manager. (That would be me, of course.) With his sweet left-handed swing that produces a great deal of line drives, his tendency to hit balls solidly into the gaps, and his great ability to avoid being struck out, it was always felt that Kennedy could be a big league hitter. While the Brewers scouting staff saw his ceiling likely being that of a bench player, others in the organization saw him as having starter, and maybe even star, potential.
Granted, Kennedy will never win a gold glove. And he's pretty slow. But thus far he has proven to be capable enough in left field and quite solid at first base. And although he won't win any track races, he is a smart base-stealer and at least an average base runner.
In his earlier days Kennedy was considered a strong team leader and though he seems to have taken a bit of a back-seat in that area over time he remains a very good and well-liked teammate.
Kennedy signed a long-term contract with the team in May of last season and is signed through 1978. With the over-abundance of talented outfielders in the Brewers organization it will continue to be a challenge to find ample playing time for all of them, but so long as Andrew Kennedy keeps producing anywhere near his current levels it is almost guaranteed that he will be an important part of the team mix.