Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is in the midst of his first real slump of the season. The MVP candidate is one for his last 11 and has yet to hit a home run in the month of May (25 at-bats).
Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is as hot as anyone has ever been in the history of the sport. Over his last eight games, he is 14 for 32 (.438) with eight home runs and 15 RBI. Overall, Hamilton is hitting .407 on the season.
It was only a couple weeks ago that Matt Kemp was on top of the baseball world. There were countless articles about him being the best baseball player on the planet, and many stated the MVP trophy should be given to him now.
That was so last week, right?
Baseball fans, and the media for that matter, have a “what have you done for me lately” kind of attitude. Not only has Kemp cooled off a bit on the field, but all the chatter about the slugger faded this past week as well.
Kemp is a phenomenal baseball player, but you knew that. Fans need to tone down their expectations of him a bit.
In Kemp’s five full seasons, his highest batting average at the end of the year was .324 and that happened last year. Chances are he is going to continue to come back down to earth, but a sensational season is still on the horizon.
If there is anything disappointing at all about Kemp so far this season, it has been his lack of aggressiveness on the basepaths. He is just two for five in stolen base attempts, but he has also been dealing with a tight hamstring for the last couple of weeks.
It is going to be interesting to see how Kemp and Hamilton compare to each other as the season progresses. Let’s not forget that at the end of April, Kemp was hitting .417 with 12 home runs and 25 RBI, compared to Hamilton’s .395 batting average with nine home runs and 25 RBI.
Fans in Los Angeles and Texas are going to see Kemp and Hamilton comparisons continue for most of the season, especially if they are each near the top of the triple crown categories.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com