Kevin Curtis Kennedy (born
May 26,
1954 in
Los Angeles, California) is a former
manager in
American Major League Baseball and a current
television host for
Fox Sports' baseball coverage. He has been given the nickname "The Skipper" by Fox Sports due to his need to constantly bring up his managerial career during the broadcasts.
Early life and career
Kennedy was a career
minor league catcher who played in the
Baltimore Orioles and
Los Angeles Dodgers farm systems. After a very successful career as a pilot in the Dodger minor league organization, he briefly served as a player development official and then
bench coach for the
Montreal Expos.
Managerial career
Texas Rangers
He then was hired to manage the
Texas Rangers for the 1993 season after firing
Bobby Valentine and
Toby Harrah, who were used in the 1992 season. Kennedy was let go following the
strike-shortened 1994 season after posting only a 52-62 record (even though, at the time of the strike, it was good enough for first place in the division) and was replaced by
Johnny Oates.
Boston Red Sox
For 1995, Kennedy became the manager for the
Boston Red Sox (where he led them to their first postseason appearance since 1990 despite ultimately being swept by the
Cleveland Indians in the
playoffs), but was part of a merry-go-round of manager changes in Boston which also saw the firing of
Joe Morgan,
Butch Hobson and later
Jimy Williams, and Kennedy was fired following the 1996 season.
Broadcasting career
Currently, Kennedy anchors
FOX's baseball coverage with
Jeanne Zelasko and also hosts a radio program on
FOX Sports Radio.
Kevin is currently the co-host of The Show with Rob Dibble on XM Radio's MLB Home Plate station XM175.
He is also a regular co-host of "Dodgers Live" on FSN Prime Ticket
External links