BIOGRAPHY
Ian Kennedy was born December 19, 1984, in Huntington Beach, California. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
Kennedy made his major league debut with the New York Yankees on September 1, 2007, in place of Mike Mussina, to whom he has been compared. He earned the win, allowing three runs (only one earned run) in seven innings, striking out six, walking two, and allowing five hits.
In Kennedy's first appearance for Arizona, he pitched two scoreless innings in a rain-shortened game. He got his first win as a Diamondback on April 29, going 8 innings, while allowing 6 hits which led to 4 runs and striking out 6. On August 26, Kennedy struck out a career-high 12 batters, while allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings against the San Diego Padres.
Kennedy was named the Diamondbacks' 2011 Opening Day starting pitcher. On April 25, Kennedy threw the first complete game of his career, a three-hit shutout at Chase Field, outdueling 2008 AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee. He struck out ten and gave up no walks in a 4–0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Kennedy continued to pitch very well through the first half of the season, matching his win total from the previous year by his final start before the All-Star break. At that time, he was 9–3 in 19 starts with a 3.44 ERA in 128 1⁄3 innings. After a strong first half, Kennedy performed magnificently following the All-Star break, with the Diamondbacks winning in all but one of his remaining starts. This included a streak of winning a career-high seven consecutive starts (starting from July 8) where he posted a 2.44 ERA in 48 innings. A three-inning start in a loss to the Phillies on August 18 snapped this streak. Kennedy then proceeded to win six of his last seven starts, posting a 1.66 ERA and allowing just one home run during that span. On September 19, Kennedy earned his 20th win of the season after striking out a career-high 12 batters over eight shutout innings in a 1–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the first 20-game winner in the National League that year, and just the fourth Diamondbacks pitcher with a 20+ win season. Kennedy finished the second half of the season with 12 wins (tied with that year's Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander for the most in the majors following the All-Star break) against just one loss while posting a 2.11 ERA in 14 starts (the third-best mark in the majors).
On January 29, 2016, Kennedy signed a 5-year, $70 million contract with the Kansas City Royals. In his first season in Kansas City, he rebounded from his 2015 season, going 11–11 with a 3.68 ERA in 33 starts. In 195 2⁄3 innings, he struck out 184.
On February 22, 2021, Kennedy signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. On March 30, 2021, Kennedy was selected to the 40-man roster.
On January 27, 2023, Kennedy signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. On March 29, it was announced that Kennedy had made the Opening Day roster, and his contract was selected to the 40-man roster.