RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – The Sacramento River Cats are in Reno to take on the Aces in a six-game series. For one of their players, it marks a return to a familiar place. Buddy Kennedy played for the Aces during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017, he was a part of the organization for multiple years.
From there, he went team to team, including an MLB stint last season when he was up with the Blue Jays, Phillies, and the Dodgers. He also earned a World Series ring in 2025 with Los Angeles, having played games with the team during their championship season.
This year, Kennedy is with the San Francisco Giants organization and has been one of the best on the River Cats so far, sporting a .320 batting average with eight home runs on the year- one of which came in the opening game of the Reno series.
“It’s special. There’s a lot of memories here in Reno when I was younger in 2022 and 2023. We had some good teams here. I know a lot of things here, a lot of places to eat, where to stay. It’s full circle,” said Kennedy. “I got claimed by the Dodgers last year and was kind of everywhere. I was in a foreign country, east coast, west coast. Everyone’s journey is different. Getting a ring was pretty special, they don’t come too often obviously. I’ll always hold that for the rest of my life.”
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