"I didn't want to be shellshocked. I wanted to act like I belong here. It's a dream come true. You see the stadium on TV and you wish and hope you'll be out there like those guys."
Ian was born in Long Beach, CA at Long Beach Memorial hospital on December 19, 1984. His parents are Sean and Teri Kennedy. Ian has one younger sister, Kandice. Ian lived in Garden Grove CA from the age of 2 until 13 years old when his family moved to Huntington Beach, CA. Ian played Garden Grove Pony Baseball from the age of 4.5yrs until 12yrs old. Ian also played travel baseball from the age of 10yrs until 14yrs.
Kennedy was previously drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round (425th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, but he didn't sign with them. He joins Randy Johnson, Mark Prior, Tom Seaver, and Barry Zito on the list of pitchers drafted out of USC.
In 2005 Kennedy made the USC single-season strikeout list, striking out 158 batters, fourth on the list, behind Mark Prior, Seth Etherton, and Walt Peterson. Kennedy has a 12.15 strikeouts per nine innings ratio, which is fifth best in his school's history. He was also selected for the U.S. National Team twice. Kennedy was named a first-team All-American after both his freshman and sophomore years, and was also named to the Preseason All-American first team in 2006 and the USA's Junior National Team in 2002. In 2005, he became the eighth pitcher in USC history to be named the Pac-10 Conference "Pitcher of the Year."
Kennedy was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round (21st overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, earning a $2.25 million signing bonus. "I would like to go out and play", he said, "start my professional career. The earlier the better. I imagine it's not going to be very long before I start. At least that's what I'm hoping. If it does take a while, I'm ready for that – but I want to go out and play." He consistently throws his fastball around 91–92 mph, he is known for his pitching finesse to retire hitters.
In October 2007, Kennedy married USC basketball player Allison Jaskowiak in a ceremony outside of St. Louis. None of his teammates on the Yankee playoff roster could attend the wedding as they were in the middle of the playoff series against the Cleveland Indians. Kennedy said of his wedding:
On May 28, 2008, after enduring a strained right lat muscle, and being diagnosed with bursitis behind the scapular, Kennedy was placed on the DL, expected to miss at least 15 days. He returned to the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees, struggling in his first few starts before going on a three-game tear. From July 19 to 29, Kennedy pitched 20 innings, allowing 7 hits which yielded 3 runs, while collecting 14 Ks, and walking only 4. On July 24, Kennedy had another no-hitter broken up, after pitching a dominant 6⁄3 innings.
In December 2009, Ian Kennedy went to the Diamondbacks in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, in which Detroit received Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees and Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the Diamondbacks, the Yankees received Curtis Granderson from the Tigers, and the Diamondbacks also received Edwin Jackson from the Tigers.
Kennedy and his wife, Allison, have four daughters and one son: Nora (born in April 2011), Renee (born in June 2012), Lydia (born in February 2014), Evelyn (born in July 2015), and Isaac (born in September 2017).
Kennedy was not as stellar in 2012 as he was in 2011, with a record of 15–12 with a 4.02 ERA.
On July 31, 2013, Kennedy was traded to the San Diego Padres for Joe Thatcher, Matt Stites, and a compensatory draft pick. Kennedy was immediately added to the Padres rotation. He started 10 games for the Padres, going 4-2 with a 4.24 ERA and 55 strike-outs in 57⁄3 innings.
In the 2014 season, Kennedy reached 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career, becoming the fourth Padres pitcher to reach that mark and first since Jake Peavy did it in 2007.
On January 29, 2016, Kennedy signed a 5-year, $70 million contract with the Kansas City Royals.
On September 19, Ian Kennedy was called up from the minors. On September 23, Kennedy made an appearance against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He hit one batter and walked two others, but allowed no hits while pitching a scoreless 8th inning.
