Tony Kemp’s wife gave him three-year MLB ultimatum at start of career

Tony Kemp got drafted in 2013 and received quite the ultimatum.

The A’s outfielder joined Xavier Scruggs and Lauren Gardner on MLB Network’s “Off Base” on Monday from Yankee Stadium, where Oakland has played this week, and was asked about how he balances a bourgeoning MLB career with raising one young kid — and another on the way.

Kemp is married to Michelle Kemp (née Chieng), and he explained the dynamic of their relationship.

“We’ve known each other since we were in seventh grade. We didn’t start dating in college, but we went to each others’ prom and we’ve known each other for a long time,” he explained.

“She didn’t want kids until she was 30, and I kind of agreed with the same way. Obviously she had to stop her career in broadcasting. She did radio and TV arts up in Toronto. It was tough because she was trending in the direction she wanted to, but I had just gotten drafted in 2013.

“She said, ‘Okay. You’ve got three years to make the big leagues.’ I said, ‘Three years? That’s less than the time that it [takes] — usually it’s four or five.’ She said, ‘I believe in you but it has to be three years.’ She wanted to make it worth her while if she was gonna sacrifice her career, and that makes you have a better appreciation of bringing kids into it.”

Kemp made it to the big leagues in 2016, playing 59 games for the Astros for that season.

Kemp went on to say that seeing his wife and kid before games takes away “all the other stresses” and puts baseball in perspective, and that he has to grapple with being present as a dad and getting proper rest.

Kemp broke into the majors in 2013 with the Astros, got traded to the Cubs in 2019 and joined the A’s in 2020.

Kemp is a career .240 hitter with 31 home runs and a .682 OPS.