
Ian Kennedy posted by Padres Fan
Born December 19, 1984, Ian Kennedy plays MLB for San Diego Padres as their pitcher. Kennedy throws five types of pitches, including two-seam and four-seam fastballs at around 90 to 95 mph, a knuckle-curve at around 75 to 78 mph, a Vulcan changeup that is above average, and a cutter at around 85 mph. Kennedy started playing baseball in school and he was awarded many "valuable player" awards. In college, he played for University of Southern California and again received several awards and broke school records.
Kennedy started his professional baseball career in 2006, when he was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees. He pitched for New York Penn League's team, Staten Island Yankees for 2.2 innings. In 2007, he played 63 innings for Tampa Yankees of Florida State League and posted record of 6-1, 1.29 ERA, and struck out 72. This earned him a promotion to Trenton Thunder, Double-A team of the Eastern League, where his record was 5-1, ERA was 2.59, and he struck out 57.
In September 2007, Kennedy made his debut in MLB, playing for the Yankees as a replacement for Mike Mussina. In seven innings, he struck out six, and allowed three runs and five hits. In December 2009, Kennedy was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and started with two scoreless innings for his new team. However, in April he had his first victory playing 8 innings, where he struck out six, and allowed six hits and four runs. In August, while pitching against the San Diego Padres, Kennedy struck out 12 and allowed only a single hit, which is his career best. In July 2013, Kennedy was traded to the San Diego Padres, and was immediately included in the rotation of the team. In 2014, Kennedy made his 200th strikeout, which made him the fourth pitcher of the Padres to reach this record.
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