Former Astros minor leaguer Jon Kemmer, 35, dies in rollover crash
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A former baseball player turned coach and trainer, he was killed near the place where he once aimed to make his name in the major leagues.
Former Houston Astros minor leaguer Jon Kemmer was 35 when he died in a car crash over the weekend following a rollover crash in Galveston County.
Discover JeffersonKemmer, an outlet near Kemmer’s hometown in Pennsylvania, said he was on his way from coaching a travel tournament in Houston to his home in Santa Fe, Texas, when he crashed.
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Houston Astros grounder Jon Kemmer strikes out in the third inning against the Washington Nationals during a spring training game at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 6, 2018. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
Citing the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office, the news outlet said Kemmer was traveling on a rural road when his vehicle left the road and crashed into a utility pole shortly after 6 p.m. local time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kemmer was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Kemmer was coaching the HTX Battle Bucks 14U travel baseball team at the Triple Play Classic in Houston, the source reported.
Houston Astros right fielder Jon Kemmer warms up before a game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 16, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Astros selected Kemmer in the 21st round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia, and he moved up to Triple-A in 2019. But the cancellation of the minor league season due to COVID-19 appeared to put an end to his career.
He played in the Dominican Winter League in 2020, but his last appearance in minor league ball was 2019. His DWL stint was his last stint in professional baseball.
In Triple-A ball, he hit .265 with a .830 OPS in 362 total games from 2016 to 2019. He also played for the Triple-A affiliates of the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemmer also played in foreign minor leagues, hitting .355 with a 1.005 OPS at Mexico’s Triple-A level in 2019 before playing for Los Angeles’ Triple-A team, the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He attended spring training with the Astros in 2017 and 2018.
Houston Astros right fielder Jon Kemmer plays against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park on March 17, 2017 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports)
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Kemmer was a high school prodigy who hit .727 his senior year. He hit .387 with a 1.206 OPS in his senior season in college.
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