[9] He was selected to the Florida State League All-Star team in 2005,[10] and set Vero Beach franchise records for home runs (27) and slugging percentage (.569).

[11] Kemp began 2006 with the AA Jacksonville Suns, where he hit .327 with seven homers, 34 runs batted in (RBIs) and 11 steals, prompting a promotion to the major league squad.

His promotion was spurred by an effort to provide regular rest for aging center fielder Kenny Lofton and the often injured right field All-Star J. D.

[13] He hit his first Major League homer on June 1 in his second Dodger Stadium at-bat off the Philadelphia Phillies' Gavin Floyd.

[4] After his fast start, Kemp slumped and hit only .234 with no homers from June 14 through July 13, when he was reassigned to the AAA Las Vegas 51s.

[1] Kemp started the 2007 season on the major league roster[18] but lost his place after suffering a shoulder injury while running into the outfield fence at Dodger Stadium.

[36] However, he slumped badly in the second half of the season and finished with a .249 batting average, 28 home runs, 89 RBIs, and 19 steals while playing in all 162 games for the first time in his career.

[37] Kemp was the subject of some criticism in 2010 from General Manager Ned Colletti, who called him out publicly early in the season for poor baserunning.

[44] On April 17, Kemp hit his second career walk-off home run, doing it in the ninth inning off of St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin, on a 2–2 count that gave the Dodgers a 2–1 victory.

[54] Kemp wound up hitting 39 home runs in 2011 with 126 RBIs, leading the league in both categories, the first Dodger to do so since Dolph Camilli in the 1941 season.

[67] A survey of baseball writers revealed that if the MVP vote was retaken, with knowledge of Braun's positive test, then Kemp would have won.

[78] Kemp was placed on the disabled list on May 14 because of a hamstring injury, ending his streak of 399 consecutive games played, which was the longest in the majors at the time.

[80] Despite missing about two months with injuries, Kemp was voted by the fans as a starter for the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

[81] Kemp's injury woes continued as he crashed into the outfield wall at Coors Field in Colorado on August 28, and injured both his knee and his shoulder.

[1] After the season, Kemp underwent surgery on his sore shoulder to repair a torn labrum and some minor damage to his rotator cuff.

[87] He spent time rehabbing at Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers spring training home, and was close to returning when he suffered a setback on June 9.

In that game, Kemp made a game-ending catch while reaching over his shoulder, robbing the Giants' Marco Scutaro of a hit.

"[93] Kemp's ankle injury took a lot longer to heal than had been expected, and the team reported that they hoped to get him back in September.

[94][95][96] However, when he finally began his minor league rehab assignment at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga in late August, he struggled at the plate and his return date was pushed back.

[97] He went hitless in five games, with seven strikeouts, and when the minor league season ended on September 2 he was moved to Camelback Ranch to continue his rehab rather than being activated.

[106] Recovering from various injuries, Kemp sat out most of spring training and only started playing in minor league rehab games after the Dodgers left for their season-opening series in Australia.

[107] Kemp struggled defensively in center field during the first couple of months of the season, a problem that came to a head after a particular bad series for him against the New York Mets in mid-May.

[108] Immediately afterward, the Dodgers made Andre Ethier the starting center fielder, and informed Kemp that he would be moving to left field.

[113] On December 11, 2014, he was traded to the San Diego Padres along with Tim Federowicz and $32 million in cash for Joe Wieland, Yasmani Grandal, and Zach Eflin.

The trade was not finalized until December 18 due to the Padres expressing some concerns over a physical which revealed Kemp had severe arthritis in both hips.

[125] For the 2017 season, he batted .276/.318/.463, while leading the NL in double plays grounded into (with 25), and hitting 19 home runs but, for the first time in his major league career, not stealing any bases.

[126] On December 16, 2017, the Braves traded Kemp to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Adrián González, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, Charlie Culberson and cash considerations.

[130] On December 21, 2018, the Dodgers traded Kemp to the Cincinnati Reds, along with Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and cash considerations in exchange for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs, and Josiah Gray.

The observation was appropriate due to Kemp's imposing size – the Dodgers' roster listed him at 6' 4" tall and 225 pounds – and surprisingly fast foot-speed.

It wasn't until the next day when the starting lineup did not include Kemp that baseball writer Eric Enders, also commenting in Dodger Thoughts added the capitalized article in front of the animal, completing the nickname, writing "So much for looking forward to watching The Bison tonight.