Ian Kinsler

Kinsler’s paternal great-grandparents, Benjamin and Rose Künstlich, were born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in the 1930s to escape the rising antisemitism in Europe prior to World War II.

Benjamin and Rose anglicized their last name to Kinsler by the time their son, Jack, was born in the U.S. Ian Kinsler's father, Howard, had grown up in the Bronx and played basketball during his freshman season at the University of Arizona, and was a warden at a state prison on Tucson's southeast side.

He has been a major influence on Kinsler.

When Kinsler was four his father would toss him fly balls, and his dad says Kinsler would "get under them like he'd been doing it his whole life."

His father coached him until high school, and was especially tough.

When Kinsler was 13 years old, and the best player on a PONY league team coached by his father that was playing for a championship, his dad caught Kinsler rolling his eyes as he gave the team orders.

"I benched him, without hesitation", said his father.

With Kinsler on the bench, the team lost the game.

Kinsler had a physical challenge to overcome.

"I've had asthma my whole life", Kinsler said.

"That was tough when I was younger. I woke up a lot and couldn't breathe, and had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. It kind of held me back from athletics. I still have it, but I control it. Now I use an atomizer or an inhaler. When I was younger, I used this breathing machine… I hated that thing. I always wanted to run around and be active."

Ian Michael Kinsler (איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American former professional baseball second baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego Padres.

Kinsler helped lead the baseball team to state titles in 1997 and 2000.

He hit .380 as a junior, to earn second-team All-League honors, and .504 with 5 home runs and 26 stolen bases during his senior year, in which he was named first-team All-State and first-team All-League.

Four of his high school teammates also made it to the major leagues: Brian Anderson (his best friend in high school), Scott Hairston, Chris Duncan, and Shelley Duncan.

He graduated in 2000 from Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona.

Kinsler was drafted by his home-state Arizona Diamondbacks after high school in the 29th round of the 2000 MLB draft, but did not feel ready for the pros.

He opted instead to honour his commitment.

He started his college career at Central Arizona College, where he hit .405 with 17 doubles, 37 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases, was named second-team All-ACCAC, and played shortstop alongside future major leaguers Scott Hairston and Rich Harden.

The Diamondbacks drafted him again in 2001 (26th round), but he declined to sign because he felt that playing college baseball a little longer would help him develop his game.

Arizona State Sun Devils coach Pat Murphy secured his commitment out of junior college, getting him transfer to ASU in his sophomore year with the promise that he would play shortstop for the Sun Devils.

But while he started briefly alongside fellow middle infielder Dustin Pedroia, he ended up spending much of the season on the bench.

He was also teammates with Andre Ethier.

University of Missouri Tigers coach Tim Jamieson spotted him in a summer league, and convinced him to head east for his junior year.

Despite having been drafted in the 17th round out of college, Kinsler rose to become a four-time All-Star and a member of the Sporting News' 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball.

He was known as a five-tool player, hitting for average and power, and excelling in baserunning, throwing, and fielding.

Kinsler twice hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases in the same season (2009 and 2011), and is one of 12 ballplayers in major league history who have had multiple 30–30 club seasons.

He hit for the cycle in a game in 2009, while getting hits in all six of his at bats.

In 2011, he also joined the 20–20 club for the third time, one season shy of the major league record for a second baseman.

Through 2013, Kinsler led the Texas Rangers, all-time, career-wise, in stolen bases and power-speed number.

In November 2013, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder.

He has been awarded both a Fielding Bible Award (2015) and two Gold Glove Awards (2016 and 2018).

Kinsler was a four-time All Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and a member of the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Through 2019, on defense Kinsler had the best career range factor of any active second baseman in MLB, while on offense among all active players he was 3rd in power–speed number and in career runs scored, and 5th in career doubles.

He retired following the end of the 2019 season with 1,999 career hits.

In 2021, he played for the Israeli national baseball team in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

He was the manager of Team Israel at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Kinsler was born in Tucson, Arizona, and was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother.

In 2019 he was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.