Buddy Kennedy, grandson of Brewers legend Don Money, gets his first MLB hit

Buddy Kennedy in the minors

Kennedy was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 2017 amateur draft. An infielder, he played well immediately for the team’s rookie-ball affiliate. In his first 50 professional games, Kennedy hit .270/.343/.410 with eight triples and 20 RBI.

In 2018, with the rookie-level Missoula Osprey, Kennedy hit .327/.396/.465 with four home runs and 32 RBI. The next season, he was promoted to the Class-A Kane County Cougars where he hit .262/.343/.384 with seven home runs and 49 RBI.

Of course, Kennedy and all other minor league prospects did not play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When minor league play resumed in 2021, Kennedy split time between High-A and Double-A teams in the Diamondbacks organization. Overall, he hit .290/.384/.523 with 22 home runs and 60 RBI.

This season, Kennedy started the year with Triple-A Reno and hit .296/.384/.429 with four home runs and 24 RBI. He also had an amazing strikeout-to-walk ratio. Kennedy walked 30 times compared to 41 strikeouts in 54 games.

The moment Buddy Kennedy got the call

Every minor league baseball player dreams of getting the call up to the major league club. Sometimes, fans are fortunate enough to see footage of that moment:

Don Money as a major league player

Money played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball. After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Money spent 11 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers had acquired Money from the Phillies in a seven-player trade. Philadelphia sent Money, Bill Champion and John Vukovich to Milwaukee in exchange for Ken Brett, Jim Lonborg, Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson.

In his first five MLB seasons, Money hit .241/.302/.371 with the Phillies. His best season in Philadelphia was 1970. That season, Money hit .295/.361/.463 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI.

Don Money saw the best years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. With the club, he was a four-time All-Star and finished 29th in AL MVP voting twice.

Money’s first All-Star season was in 1974 when he led the league in both plate appearances and at-bats. That season, he hit .283/.346/.415 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI. He also walked 62 times compared to just 80 strikeouts.

From 1976 to 1978, Don Money was named an All-Star for three straight seasons. In those three seasons, he hit .280/.348/.442 and averaged 17 home runs and 66 RBI per season. He also averaged 51 walks and just 60 strikeouts during that three-year span.

Money retired as a player after the 1983 season. However, he was not done with baseball, or the Brewers, just yet.

Coaching career

Money started his coaching career with the Oneonta Tigers of the Detroit Tigers organization. In 1998, he was named the manager of Beloit Snappers, the Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. After seven years managing the Snappers, Money moved up to manage the Huntsville Stars, the team’s Double-A affiliate. He managed the Stars for three seasons and became their all-time winningest manager.

In 2009, Money became the manager of the Nashville Sounds, the Brewers’ Triple-A club. He held this post until 2011 when he became the Brewers’ special instructor of player development.