Matt Kemp of Los Angeles is Great but He's No Duke Snider of Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Dodgers have had some outstanding center fielders, including Joe Medwick, Dixie Walker and Duke Snider.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had some outstanding center fielders, including Willie Davis, Rick 'the patriot" Monday and most recently, Matt Kemp.

In 2011, the 26-year-old Kemp had an outstanding season. He batted .324/.399/.586. leading the league with 39 home runs, 126 RBIs and 115 runs scored. He stole 40 bases.

Kemp's great season serves to emphasize that he has a long, long way to go before he can be considered in Duke Snider's class.

Edwin Donald Snider was 26-years-old in 1953. The Brooklyn Dodgers won their second consecutive pennant only to lose their second consecutive World Series to the New York Yankees.

During the regular season, Snider batted .336/.419/.627 with 42 home runs, 126 RBIs and 132 runs scored. Duke led the lead in slugging and runs scored.

From 1953-57, Snider hit at least 40 home runs, which put him second only to Babe Ruth, who accomplished the feat seven times. Los Angeles Dodgers' fans are eagerly awaiting Kemp's first 40 home run season.

When Walter O'Malley ended the Brooklyn Dodgers' existence by moving the team to Los Angeles, their new home was the Los Angeles Coliseum, which had been built to host the 1932 Olympics. It was basically a football stadium and it showed.

The distance down the left field foul line was a Polo Grounds-like 252 feet away. The distance to right center field was a Yankee Stadium-like 440 ft. Nobody was satisfied except Mr. O'Malley because using the Coliseum instead of Wrigley Field meant many more tickets could be sold.

San Francisco ace left-hander Johnny Antonelli thought the Coliseum was "the biggest farce I ever heard of."

Warren Spahn, possibly the greatest of all left-handers was more emphatic about the distance down the left field line. "I'd like to see a rule making it mandatory for a ball to travel at least 300 feet for a home run."

When Duke Snider saw the "ball park," he said that he would practice hitting from the right side. Shades of Mickey Mantle.

Although he was only 31-years-old his first season in Los Angeles, Snider never did as well as he had done in Brooklyn. From 1958-62, he batted .292/.385/.523, averaging 24 home runs and 88 RBIs over a 162-game season.

Snider appeared in six World Series, five with Brooklyn. In 1952 and again in 1955, he hit four home runs to set a record that has since been eclipsed.

Matt Kemp is an excellent defensive player, but he has nothing over Snider, who was slightly underrated defensively because he played center field in Ebbets Field. During his World Series appearances, he demonstrated his great skills against the Yankees at the original Yankee Stadium

From age 27 until he was sent to the New York Mets in 1962, Snider batted .300/.396/.581, averaging 36 home runs and 109 RBIs over a 162-game season.

This past season was the only time Kemp hit more than 30 home runs. He should be reaching his peak, but at age 26, Snider had already hit at least 30 home runs twice.

There is no question that Matt Kemp is one of the best center fielders in the game. Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury come close, but Kemp may prove to be more valuable in the future. Maybe not, but he had a better 2011 season than either of them.

If Kemp played in 1953, his 2011 season would have topped Mickey Mantle's (.295/.398/.497), but it is dwarfed by Willie Mays.

The "Say-Hey Kid" won the batting title with a .345 average. He led the league with a .667 slugging average and won the MVP as he led the New York Giants to the World Championship.

Time will tell if 2011 were an aberration for Kemp, but one thing is certain. Duke Snider remains the greatest of all Dodgers' center fielders.