Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp remembers 2011 as the year he was the runner-up to Ryan Braun for the National League Most Valuable Player award.
Just a day after Braun was suspended for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy, Kemp believes the Brewers outfielder should lose the MVP award, according to reports.
Braun garnered 388 points and 20 first-place votes in 2011 while Kemp had 322 and 10 respectively. The league attempted to suspend Braun in October of 2011 following a positive test for elevated testosterone, but after an arbitrator ruled that Braun's urine had been handled improperly, the suspension was dropped.
Fast forward two seasons later, and Braun is once again embroiled in controversy as he agreed to a suspension without appeal Monday for violations of baseball's drug policy and labor contract.
This time, Kemp feels Braun should be stripped of the honor he won back in 2011.
According to ESPN, when Kemp was asked on Tuesday if the award should be taken from Braun, Kemp said, "I mean, yeah, I do. I feel like it should be, but that's not for me to decide, you know?"
In 2011, Kemp, who many believed should have been the MVP, led the NL in homeruns (39), RBIs (126) and runs (115) while Braun led the league in slugging (.597) and OPS (.944) and finished with a .332 batting average (2nd), 109 runs (2nd), 33 homeruns (6th) and 111 RBIs (4th).
Kemp is one of many players disgusted by Braun's actions. Braun vehemently denied any use of PED's back in 2011, and being exposed as a violator of MLB's drug policy less than two years later doesn't exactly sit well with Braun's peers.
Kemp's teammate Skip Schumaker was one of many players to vocally bash Braun on Monday, saying he believed that Braun deserved a lifetime ban. Schumaker added that he was going to remove an autographed Braun jersey that hangs in his home because he didn't want his son to compare him to Braun.
Kemp, while not as vocal as Schumaker, seemed to speak what many fans and players in the baseball world think regarding Braun following Monday's news.
"I'm disappointed," Kemp told ESPN. "I talked to Braun before any of this happened, we had conversations and I considered him a friend. I don't think anybody likes to be lied to and I feel like a lot of people have felt betrayed. That's not just me, that's the whole Brewers organization, a lot of his teammates. I think a lot of people feel that way."
According to reports, secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Jack O'Connell, said the award vote was final.
"The decision was already made," O'Connell said in an e-mail to ESPN Monday. "[Braun] won it."
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