San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp may not have had the first half he anticipated when he was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason, but his second half surge is helping him close in on a team milestone.
Entering Monday, Kemp has 98 RBIs on the season and with two more he will become the first Padres outfielder to reach 100 RBIs since Greg Vaughn did it in 1998.
Although Kemp has vastly improved on his average (.250 compared to .290) and homers (eight compared to 15) in the second half, his RBI numbers have remained fairly constant throughout the season.
Kemp had 47 RBIs in the first half and has 51 in the second half, with 12 games left to play.
August was a particularly good month for Kemp as he drove in 25 runs, eight more than any other month at this point.
Greg Vaughn put together one of the best seasons by a Padres outfielder of all-time in 1998, smacking 50 homers—still a club record—and driving in 119 runs as the team reached the World Series for the second time in its history.
One year before Vaughn knocked in 100 runs, Tony Gwynn put together his only 100-RBI season of his career, driving in 119 runs as well, while batting .372 and clubbing a career-high 17 homers.
Other Padres outfielders to accomplish the feat include Dave Winfield (1979), Joe Carter (1990), Gary Sheffield (1992) and Phil Plantier (1993).
The Padres begin a three-game home series against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. with Tyson Ross squaring off against rookie Chris Heston.
Kemp is 2-for-8 against Heston in his career with an RBI, a double and two strikeouts.
