If ever there was a time for righteous indignation, this was it.

Matt Kemp could have — and arguably should have — been the National League most valuable player last year. Ryan Braun, who won the award, subsequently tested positive for a banned substance.

Kemp could have declared himself the just and proper winner. Instead, in perhaps the single most significant step in his journey from a Dodgers problem child to a team spokesman and statesman, Kemp held fire.