Minor League Monday - Steve Kemp, 1987 ProCards.

The Oklahoma City Eighty-Niners were the final stop for Steve Kemp. Kemp, seen here on card number 143 of the 1987 ProCards set, spent more time in the minors at the end of his career than he did to start things off.

Steve was the number one pick in the 1976 draft. By 1977 he was starting with the Detroit Tigers. In 1979 he was on the All-Star team. Following the 1981 season the Tigers traded Kemp to the White Sox straight up for Chet Lemon. After one season with the ChiSox Kemp signed a free agent deal with the Yankees and things started to go downhill.

Two years and several injuries later the Yankees sent Steve to the Pirates. In May of 1986 the Pirates released him. In June he signed with the Padres but never got to the Majors. San Diego released him in September of 1986.

On March 4, 1987 the Rangers decided to take a chance on Kemp and signed him. He was assigned to Triple A Oklahoma City. He would spend all of the 1987 season and most of 1988 with the Eighty-Niners. In 1988 he would get the call to Texas. He would appear in 16 games for the Rangers but his power and ability to draw walks were gone. That would be the end of the professional line for Steve Kemp as a player.