Former Cleveland Indians star Kenny Lofton mesmerized baseball fans with his glaring speed throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The MLB veteran enjoyed a 17-year career that saw him play for as many as 11 franchises (is that a record?), including the Tribe, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
Lofton managed to play ball until he was 40 years old before finally calling it quits, so what is the 54-year-old former speedster up to now?
Kenny Lofton MLB Career
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Kenneth Lofton grew up in East Chicago, Indiana. He attended Washington High School in the area where he played for the school's baseball team and was also an All-State basketball player.
He went to college at the University of Arizona, where he played basketball for the Wildcats and even made a Final Four (alongside Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr). He tried out for the baseball team during his junior year and eventually became a full-time baseball player at center field for the program.
Lofton was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 17th round of the 1988 MLB Draft. He spent three years in the minor leagues before making his Major League Baseball debut for the Astros in 1991 against the Cincinnati Reds in a regular season game.
Lofton was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1992. That turned out to be a coup for Cleveland, as the leadoff hitter made six All-Star Games over the course of the next decade, five in the American League. Lofton was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1997, where he played one year before returning to Cleveland.
Kenny Lofton #Indians
pic.twitter.com/IEeeF4w0vz— CleWest (@erjmanlasvegas) March 23, 2020
While in Cleveland, the centerfielder led the Major Leagues in stolen bases five different times. He was a four-time Gold Glove award winner and helped lead the Tribe to a World Series in 1995.
In 2002, Lofton signed with the Chicago White Sox but only played half a season before being traded to the San Francisco Giants. He appeared in the World Series with the Giants but the team was defeated in a seven-game series to the Anaheim Angels.
In 2003, Lofton joined the Pittsburgh Pirates but was again a trade deadline casualty, having been dealt to the Chicago Cubs. He joined the New York Yankees in 2004 before joining the Phillies in 2005 and the Dodgers in 2006. The six-time All-Star played for the Texas Rangers in 2007 before returning to Cleveland for the final 54 games of his career.
Across his 17 years in MLB, Lofton recorded over 8,000 at-bats. Remarkably, he hit .299, stole 622 bases, collected 2,428 hits and logged 130 home runs. The outfielder made six All-Star teams and played in 95 postseason games. Unfortunately, Lofton's base-path heroics weren't enough to land him a spot in the Hall of Fame, but he is a member of the Indians Hall of Fame.
Kenny Lofton Now
Kenny Lofton is 54 now. He has a different passion these days.
In 2004, he started a TV and film production company called Filmpool Inc. He released a film, "Chokehold," in 2019. The film premiered in Scottsdale, Arizona and starred Casper Van Dien and Lochlyn Munro. Lofton signed autographs in Cleveland, Ohio as part of the two-stop premier tour.
Lofton plays golf in his free time and in 2008 qualified for the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic. Additionally, Lofton has worked as a base-running and outfield coach, and he briefly served as a commentator for Fox Sports West on the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kenny Lofton is worth $25 million today, which is quite the fortune. Then again, he did enjoy a terrific (and very long) career.
