Rick Kemp can still hear Jack Buck and Harry Caray in his mind. They were the voices of baseball in his youth, the men he listened to on his transistor radio back on Carrie Avenue in North St. Louis when he was a child.
His childhood heroes were Bob Gibson, Curt Flood, Orlando Cepeda and Stan Musial. Even now at 59 Kemp’s computer password is linked to Gibson’s magical 1968 season, which garnered the legendary righthander the Cy Young Award and the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Knowing that history, Astros rookie outfielder Tony Kemp wasn’t the least bit surprised Tuesday afternoon when his father showed up at Busch Stadium in a red Cardinals hat and an orange Astros T-shirt.