Kennedy takes when deciding when and which off-speed pitch to throw has drawn comparisons to that of Mike Messina and Greg Maddux, both of whom Kennedy observed when he was developing as a pitcher. Kennedy is also one of several pitchers to utilize a unique changeup grip known as the Vulcan, in which the ball is gripped with a two-finger split reminiscent of the Vulcan salute in Star Trek. In the bullpen, Kennedy maintains a three-pitch repertoire centered around his fastball, with a changeup and a curveball acting as his off-speed pitches. His average fastball velocity has steadily increased throughout his major league career, and has been at its highest during the 2021 season, where it carried an average velocity of . His off-speed pitches also became faster after Kennedy transitioned to the shorter innings workload required of a reliever: his curveball jumped an average of after moving to the bullpen in 2019, while his changeup simultaneously rose by . Personal life Kennedy married Allison Jaskowiak, then a member of the USC Trojans women's basketball team, on October 6, 2007, in Kirkwood, Missouri. Many of his Yankees teammates had hoped to attend the wedding, but they wound up being in the midst of an 11-inning playoff game against the Cleveland Indians. Kennedy and Jaskowiak have seven children; five daughters and two sons. One daughter was born July 31, 2015, two hours before Kennedy was scheduled to start a game against the Miami Marlins. He had planned to return to California when his wife went into labor, but ran into delays and watched the birth over FaceTime in Miami. While playing for the Padres, Kennedy and his family began inviting the children of United States Navy members to baseball games. After signing with the Royals, he expanded upon this trend: at every home Saturday game, Kennedy would invite members of various military branches to watch the game from a Dugout Suite, where they would receive free food and Royals merchandise. Kennedy was a recipient of the 2019 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award, presented to baseball players for their continued support of members of the United States military. References External links 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California People from Westminster, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers National League wins champions New York Yankees players Arizona Diamondbacks players San Diego Padres players Kansas City Royals players