When Matt Kemp joined the Los Angeles Dodgers four years ago, not long removed from his hometown of Midwest City, Oklahoma, it was your classic fish-out-of water narrative: Wide-eyed country slugger arrives in glamorous showbiz Gomorrah, spies Lamborghinis and poodle-clutching starlets, feels homesick and overwhelmed. "I was a little shocked," Kemp recalls. "It took me a while to get used to the lifestyle."
Flash forward four years. The fish has found the water. Kemp is one of the best players in baseball— last season, the 25-year-old center fielder batted .297 with twenty-six home runs and 101 RBIs and added a Gold Glove for his defense. And he's embraced L.A. like Nicholson: He can tell you a prime lunch spot (West Hollywood's Toast) and the pitfalls of shopping Rodeo Drive ("Some of those clothes are too small"). Fittingly, there's now a starlet in Kemp's life—the singer Rihanna, with whom Kemp has been photographed by the paparazzi. "That's a good friend of mine," Kemp says cryptically but politely. "We hang out and have fun."
After nearly a half decade out west, Kemp might know his couture ("I'm addicted to these Lanvin shoes"), but the accessory he covets most is a World Series ring. The Dodgers have been bounced from the playoffs the past two years by the Philadelphia Phillies, and Kemp could barely stomach watching the rest of the postseason. "It's hard," he says. At least he has his freedom (mostly). Athletes rank a distant second to entertainers on the L.A. attention scale. "I can walk around the city," he says. "I don't need a bunch of people or a security guard. Singers and actresses are going to get way more recognized than an athlete—unless you're Kobe Bryant."