He graduated in 2000 from Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona. 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. In 2019 he was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.

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.

Kinsler was then drafted a third time by the Texas Rangers in the 17th round (496th overall) in 2003 as a shortstop at the urging of area scout Mike Grouse. Grouse liked Kinsler’s tools, makeup, desire, and gritty approach. In Grouse’s scouting report, he wrote that Kinsler had a great feel for the game, athleticism, solid defensive skills, intensity, and leadership qualities. Grouse knew that Kinsler was probably being underrated by rival scouts who did not know that Kinsler had played with a foot stress fracture while at Missouri, “so [Kinsler] really couldn’t run like I knew he could. I’d seen him in Wichita the year before, so I knew he was a plus runner. Most people … didn’t know that, so they probably downgraded him. But I knew it, and I wasn’t telling anybody.” Kinsler, for his part, says: “I thought I was a lot better than a 17th round pick. I thought I belonged in the top 10 rounds.” Kinsler nonetheless agreed to sign with the Rangers on his 21st birthday, for $30,000.

Kinsler signed quickly, and broke in as a shortstop in 2003. He batted .277 in 188 at-bats in his pro debut for the Spokane Indians in the Short-season Northwest League, while leading the team in steals (11) and triples (6). He then spent the 2003–04 winter in Arizona, working out with the Rangers’ strength and conditioning coaches. He said: “I was probably 170 pounds, and I decided I needed to lift, put on some weight, and eat as much as I could. And I learned how to hit.”

By early 2004, Kinsler had vaulted to the # 1 spot on Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet. John Sickels of ESPN described him as having “great plate discipline, power, and … [being] a reasonably good defensive shortstop.”

He had a breakout year in 2004. He split the season between two teams, beginning with the Low-A Clinton LumberKings, for which he hit .402/.465/.692 in 224 at bats. Kinsler was voted to start at shortstop for the Midwest League Western Division All Star team, while he was leading the league in batting, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, extra-base hits, and runs scored, but did not play as he was promoted. Baseball America rated him the most exciting ballplayer and the # 8 prospect in the league. When a friend asked him what the secret was to his success, he responded: “Dude, I have no idea.”

Invited to the parent club’s 2005 spring training, he hit .327 while slugging .612. Kinsler spent 2005 at Triple-A with the Oklahoma RedHawks, transitioning from shortstop to second base because that is where the organization anticipated he would play in the future, in the event that Alfonso Soriano no longer played second base for the major league team. That was tough on Kinsler’s ego initially, but the most difficult part of the switch for him was the double play. He was selected to the mid-season Pacific Coast League All Star team in June, and came in a close second to Mitch Jones in the 2005 Triple-A Home Run Derby.

With Alfonso Soriano having been traded in the off-season, Kinsler won the Rangers’ starting second base job in spring training in 2006 over Mark DeRosa. “Ian Kinsler came as advertised”, said Showalter.

He made his major league debut against the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day on April 3, 2006, and got his first major league hit in his first major league at bat, off Curt Schilling. Kinsler said:

He was hitting .476 when he dislocated his left thumb sliding head-first into second base on April 11, 2006, and was placed on the disabled list. “I knew it wasn’t good when I looked down and I saw the top part of the thumb pointing in at me”, Kinsler said. He came back 41 games later on May 25, and went 3–4 with a single and two home runs, to lead the Rangers to an 8–7 victory over the Oakland Athletics. “I hope the fans don’t expect that much every night”, he joked.

Kinsler finished 2006 with a .286 batting average, 14 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a team-leading 11 stolen bases in 423 at bats. He batted .300 with runners in scoring position, and .300 when the game was tied. He led all AL rookies with 27 doubles, and his .454 slugging percentage was the seventh-best in a season since 2000 by an AL rookie with at least 400 at bats. Defensively, in August he tied a team record by recording five double plays in one game. He also led all American League (AL) second basemen in both range factor (5.58) and errors (18). He was named Texas Rangers 2006 Rookie of the Year.

Kinsler married Tess Brady, his high school sweetheart, on November 18, 2006. Their daughter, Rian Brooklynn Kinsler, was born December 5, 2008. On June 8, 2011, his wife gave birth to a son, Jack Jamisson Kinsler. He was put on paternity leave due to the birth.

During the 2006–07 off-season, Kinsler focused on building up his legs to improve his speed, durability, and agility. In spring training in 2007, he hit .429, led the AL in RBIs (19), and was sixth in the major leagues in hits (27).

In 2007, Kinsler hit 20 home runs (leading all AL second basemen) and was 23-for-25 in stolen base attempts (a 92% success rate). He was one of only six batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Grady Sizemore, B.J. Upton, and Curtis Granderson. He also became the sixth player in franchise history to reach the 20–20 plateau, joining Alfonso Soriano (2005), Iván Rodríguez (1999), Rafael Palmeiro (1993), Bobby Bonds (1978), and Toby Harrah (1975 and 1977). He did it despite his stress fracture, which kept him under 500 at bats. His 23 stolen bases and 96 runs led the Rangers.

He hit .413 with runners in scoring position. He was one of only three batters in the AL to have at least 18 home runs and 18 stolen bases in both 2007 and 2008, along with Alex Rodriguez and Grady Sizemore. His 41 doubles ranked second in franchise history to Alfonso Soriano’s 43 in 2005. He had a .377 on-base percentage as a leadoff hitter, the third-best mark in the AL, and his .521 slugging percentage was the highest for a leadoff batter in the American League. Kinsler’s .381 on-base percentage as a leadoff hitter over the 2005–08 seasons was the fourth-highest in the major leagues.

In February 2008, Kinsler signed a five-year deal worth $22 million guaranteed. It will jump to $32 million if the Rangers exercise their $10 million option for 2013. He received a raise to $500,000 in 2008, and a $1 million signing bonus. The contract went to $3 million in 2009, $4 million in 2010, $6 million in 2011, and $7 million in 2012. If the Rangers were to choose not to exercise their $10 million option, Kinsler was to receive a $500,000 buyout. If he were traded, both the buyout and the option year were to increase by $500,000. If the option were exercised, the commitment would have been the largest the Rangers have ever made to a player whom they drafted and developed. “Ian represents the past, present, and future of this organization”, said assistant general manager Thad Levine.

Kinsler was delighted when Rangers manager Ron Washington ultimately committed to Kinsler being the team’s leadoff hitter in 2008. “I didn’t think he was the prototype leadoff hitter, but the guy proved me wrong”, Washington said. “He’ll take a walk, or get one run for us with one swing of the bat. He can bunt, he can run, and he can hit the ball to the other side.”

Through mid-May 2008, Kinsler had the best career stolen-base percentage (88.5%) of anyone in Rangers/Senators history with at least 40 attempts. “It’s part of my game”, said Kinsler. “It’s not one of the first things I’m known for.” According to scouts, his ability on the basepaths is due to innate instincts and his “twitch speed” rather than his pure running speed. Grouse, who signed him, says that Kinsler also “goes from first to third faster than anyone, because he has that God-given ability to read the ball so well off the bat.”

In 2008, despite missing the last six weeks of the season, Kinsler was third in the AL in times advanced from first to third on a single (17), fourth in batting average (.319) and power/speed number (21.3), fifth in steals of third base (8) and “bases taken” (23; advanced on fly balls, passed balls, wild pitches, balks, etc.), sixth in line drive percentage (24%) and in extra base hit percentage (10.8% of all plate appearances), eighth in runs (102) and OPS (.892), ninth in sacrifice hits (8) and home runs on the road (14), and tenth in stolen bases (26; while only being caught twice—a 93% success rate) and lowest strikeout percentage (11.5% of at bats).

Kinsler, who is Jewish, and whose father is Jewish while his mother is Catholic, has become a prominent figure in the Jewish community, and enjoys the attention that he attracts from it. He was featured in the 2008 Hank Greenberg 75th Anniversary edition of Jewish Major Leaguers Baseball Cards, licensed by Major League Baseball, commemorating the Jewish major leaguers from 1871 through 2008. He joined, among others, teammate Scott Feldman, Brad Ausmus, Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, Gabe Kapler, Jason Marquis, Jason Hirsh, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, and Scott Schoeneweis. Kinsler was one of three Jewish players in the 2008 All Star Game, joining Youkilis and Braun. He says that “Youkilis will always say something to me on the bases [referring to the fact that they are both Jewish]. ‘Happy Passover,’ he’ll throw something at me.” In 2013 he passed Shawn Green with his 163rd steal, to become the all-time career steals leader among Jewish major leaguers. Through the 2019 season, his 243 steals led the career all-time list of Jewish major leaguers (directly ahead of Ryan Braun), his 416 doubles placed him second directly behind Shawn Green, his 257 home runs and 909 RBIs both placed him 4th (behind Green and Braun), his 693 walks placed him 4th behind Sid Gordon, and his 41 triples placed him 6th behind Gordon. His 31 steals in 2009 were the third-most ever in a season by a Jewish ballplayer, behind the 35 steals by Shawn Green in 1998 and the 33 steals by Ryan Braun in 2011.

In 2008 Kinsler won the Rangers’ Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award, in recognition of his having devoted a great deal of his personal time to the community.

In 2009, Kinsler was named # 24 on the Sporting News’ list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, was polled to arrive at the list.

On April 15, 2009, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Kinsler hit for the cycle, becoming only the fourth Ranger to do so (and, at the time, the only right-handed Ranger). In the same game, Kinsler became only the second player in Ranger history to get 6 hits in a single game (the first having been Alfonso Soriano, on May 8, 2004), and the first to do so in a 9-inning game. His five runs and four extra base hits in the game matched two other team records.

Kinsler was named AL co-Player of the Week on April 20, 2009. For the week, in 30 plate appearances he led the major leagues in batting average (.556), hits (15), extra base hits (7), and runs (9), and tied for the lead in doubles (4). He also had a .600 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage, with a triple, two home runs, and six stolen bases. “He’s incredible”, said teammate Hank Blalock.

Kinsler, who already had 30 stolen bases, hit his 30th home run on September 25, becoming the only major leaguer to join the 30–30 club in 2009, and the 34th major leaguer ever. He became only the second player in Rangers’ history to have a 30–30 season (joining Alfonso Soriano, who did it in 2005), and joined Soriano (who also had 30–30 seasons in 2002 and 2003 for the Yankees) and Brandon Phillips (2007) as the only 30–30 second basemen in Major League history. “It’s an incredible accomplishment”, said Michael Young. “I’ve played with guys who have had some incredible seasons here, but 30–30 is something special. He deserves a lot of credit. He battled all season long. That’s what separates the great players from the good ones.”

In December 2009, Washington said Kinsler would bat second in 2010. “I think Kinsler performs better when he’s in the mix hitting at the top of the lineup in the first inning”, Washington said. “When he has to wait to hit, I think it takes a lot away from him.” But by early March, it was reported that he would bat fifth. Washington said, however, that that would not keep Kinsler from running: “I will not slow him down. He is a threat. I will not take away that threat. I’m not stopping Kins.” On days when Julio Borbon was not batting leadoff, Kinsler was to move up to the top of the lineup. In the end, Kinsler started 60 games batting 3rd, 20 games batting 5th, 16 games batting 6th, and 6 games leading off.

In September, Kinsler tied his own Rangers record, which he set in 2009, with his seventh leadoff home run of the season. He also hit his 20th career leadoff homer, becoming the 34th player in major league baseball history to have hit at least 20. Since his first season in 2006, his 20 lead-off homers were the 6th-most behind Alfonso Soriano (31), Hanley Ramírez (25), Jimmy Rollins (24), Curtis Granderson (24), and Rickie Weeks (24).

On April 2, 2011, Kinsler became the first player in major league history to hit a lead-off home run in the first two games of a season (giving him a total of 15 lead-off homers in his career). In his next game against the Red Sox, he hit another home run in the third inning. Kinsler and Nelson Cruz also became the first two teammates to homer in each of the first three games in a season. The two also joined Dean Palmer (1992) as the only Texas ballplayers to ever homer in the first three games of the season.

In 2011, Kinsler was 2nd in the American League in runs scored (121; the fifth-highest season total in Rangers’ history), 5th in home runs (32; a career high) and walks (89), and 9th in stolen bases (30) and extra base hits (70). He was also third in power-speed # (31.0; behind Jacoby Ellsbury and Curtis Granderson), and had the best walks-to-strikeouts ratio in the major leagues, with 1.25 walks per each strikeout. On defense, his career range factor of 5.092 was the highest among active major league second basemen, and in 2011 he led AL second basemen in double plays, with 103.

In April 2012, the Rangers gave Kinsler a five-year, $75 million contract extension, with a $10 million option for a sixth year and a $5 million buyout if the team were to not pick up the option. The extension replaced the team’s $10 million option for 2013 with a $13 million salary, and paid him $16 million in both 2014 and 2015, $14 million in 2016, and $11 million in 2017. A team option in 2018 could become guaranteed at $12 million, and included a $5 million buyout. The contract made Kinsler the highest-paid second baseman in baseball.

Kinsler was an All Star again in 2012, for the third time. For the season, he was second in the AL in plate appearances (731), third in at bats (655) and runs (105), fifth in power-speed number (20.0), sixth in doubles (42), and eighth in hit by pitch (10).

In 2013, Kinsler struck out once every 10.4 plate appearances, making him the third-toughest batter to strike out in the American League, and was the sixth-toughest batter to double up in the league (109.0 at bats/double play). He finished the season tied for fifth among active players in leadoff home runs. He led the Texas Rangers, all-time, career-wise, in stolen bases (172), hit by pitch (57), and power-speed number (163.6), and was fifth in runs (748), seventh in doubles (249) and walks (462), eighth in home runs (156), and ninth in hits (1,145) and RBIs (539). Fangraphs ranked him as the 56th-best baserunner in baseball history.

In November 2013, Kinsler was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder in a one-for-one trade of All-Stars, with the Tigers sending Texas $30 million to cover part of the difference in the players’ salaries. The Tigers gave Kinsler permission to honor Alan Trammell by wearing #3.

Kinsler, who would have been eligible to play for Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic because of his Jewish heritage, said: “Wow, I would be happy to play for Team Israel…. The truth is that if a proposal comes from Team USA to play for them, I will have a very difficult decision to make. Youk [Kevin Youkilis], Braun [Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun], and I could make a fantastic team. I am sure that I’ll talk it over with Youk – we always laugh about things like this.”

In 2014, Kinsler was named to his fourth All-Star team, as a replacement for an injured Victor Martinez. For the season he led the American League in at bats (684; also an all-time Tigers record), was 4th in hits (188) and doubles (40), 5th in runs scored (100; scoring 100 runs for the fifth time in his career), and 7th in power-speed number (15.9). He was the 10th-toughest batter in the American League to strike out (once per every 9.19 plate appearances), and was one of seven AL players to hit at least 15 home runs and steal at least 15 bases.

On November 5, 2014, Kinsler was awarded the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for second base.

On defense, he was 2nd in the AL in putouts (289), assists (425), and double plays (109) among all second basemen. His single-season defensive WARs in 2014 (2.9) and 2015 (2.6) were the second- and seventh-best in Tigers’ history. Following the 2015 season, Kinsler was awarded the Fielding Bible Award as the best-fielding second baseman in MLB. His 19 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) were six better than any other Major League second baseman that season, according to Fangraphs. His 6.3 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) was the best in the American League, and second only to Miami’s Dee Gordon. His 2.6 defensive Wins Above Replacement, according to the Baseball Reference formula, ranked him 8th among all Major League players regardless of position. Kinsler had put up 50 Defensive Runs Saved over the last three seasons, according to The Fielding Bible. The next-best total among Major League second basemen was 29, from Colorado’s DJ LeMahieu.

On September 10, 2015, Kinsler recorded his 1,500th career hit, a single off of Bryan Shaw of the Cleveland Indians. For the 2015 season, he hit .296, his best batting average since posting a career-high .319 mark in 2008, while collecting 11 home runs and 73 RBIs. For the season he led the major leagues in multi-hit games (61), and was 4th in the American League in hits (185), 6th in at bats (624, and 10th in runs scored (94) and at-bats-per-strikeout (7.8).

In mid-May 2016 he became the first player in Tigers history to hit home runs from the leadoff spot in the batting order in four consecutive games. On July 3, Kinsler hit his 200th career home run, off Danny Farquhar of the Tampa Bay Rays. Kinsler became the third active Major League player, and the 40th overall, with 200 home runs, 1,000 runs scored, 1,600 hits, and 200 stolen bases. On September 30 Kinsler hit his eighth lead-off home run of the season, setting a new Tigers’ franchise record as he surpassed that of Curtis Granderson. The homer was also Kinsler’s 28th of the year, tying Lou Whitaker’s 1989 record for most by a Tiger second baseman.

On defense, he led AL second basemen in range factor/9 innings (5.09), and was 2nd in putouts (303) and assists (432), and was 5th in fielding percentage (.988) and double plays (109). Following the season, Kinsler was named the Gold Glove Award winner for second base, the first of his career. Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia finished tied for the lead among AL second basemen in 2016 with 12 DRS. Kinsler’s 8.5 UZR trailed only Pedroia (12.5). Through 2016, Kinsler had the best career range factor of any active second baseman in Major League Baseball.

Kinsler missed some time in 2017, going on the disabled list in late May due to a left hamstring strain. In August, Kinsler was fined $10,000 by MLB for critical comments he made about umpire Ángel Hernández. He had said that Hernández was a bad umpire, and “needs to find another job.” Kinsler slammed 22 home runs in 139 games, but posted a career-low .236 batting average.

On December 13, 2017, the Tigers traded Kinsler to the Los Angeles Angels, in return for minor league center fielder Troy Montgomery and pitching prospect Wilkel Hernandez.

On June 19, 2018, Kinsler hit the 48th leadoff home run of his career, which ranked fourth all-time behind Rickey Henderson, Alfonso Soriano, and Craig Biggio. In 91 games with the 2018 Angels, Kinsler batted .239 with 13 home runs, 49 runs, 32 RBIs, and 9 stolen bases.

On July 30, 2018, the Angels traded Kinsler and cash considerations to the Boston Red Sox for Williams Jerez and Ty Buttrey, with the two teams splitting the remainder of Kinsler’s $11 million salary.

In 37 regular season games with the Red Sox, Kinsler batted .242 with 1 home run, 16 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases in 132 at bats. Between the two teams, in 2018 he tied for first among all American League second baseman in Defensive Runs Saved (10), was second in SABR Defensive Index (8.4) and was third in zone rating (.832). Kinsler won his first World Series ring in the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On December 20, 2018, Kinsler signed an $8 million, two-year contract with the San Diego Padres. The team received a $3.5 million option for the 2021 season, with a $500,000 buyout.

Kinsler’s season ended early, as he suffered a herniated disc in his neck. In 2019 he batted .217/.278/.368 with 28 runs, 9 home runs, and 22 RBIs in 258 at bats, while also pitching one shutout inning. He ended the season with 1,999 career hits.

Through 2019, Kinsler had the best career defensive range factor per game of any active second baseman in Major League Baseball (4.71). Among all active MLB players, in his career he was 3rd in power-speed # (249.8) and in career runs scored (1,243), and 5th in career doubles (416).

On August 12, 2019, Kinsler pitched for the first time in his major league career in the ninth inning during a blowout against the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching a scoreless inning, and then proceeded to hit a home run in the bottom half of the inning. It would be his final game ever played in the major leagues.

On December 20, 2019, Kinsler announced the end of his playing career and his subsequent move into an adviser to baseball operations role in the Padres front office. He and the Padres will settle the $4.25 million left on his contract for 2020. He ended his 14-year career one hit short of 2,000, with 257 home runs, 909 RBIs, and 243 stolen bases.

In March 2020, Kinsler obtained Israeli citizenship and joined Team Israel. The team has qualified to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Kinsler made aliyah in March 2020 and became an Israeli citizen.