Tonight I had the awesome opportunity of meeting Joe Kelly. This public signing was held in Corona, California, Kelly’s home town. The Inland Empire native grew up in Corona, attended Corona High School and later played for University of California, Riverside. Kelly was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 and played there for five seasons.
After playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Joe Kelly was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2014 in a deal that included Allen Craig and John Lackey. Ultimately, Kelly would succeed in the long run and help bring the Boston Red Sox yet another World Series Championship!
In his seven year career, Kelly is sporting a 43-25 record with a 3.87 career ERA. Additionally, Kelly has experience in both the bullpen and as a starting pitcher. Some may say that his ERA is a bit high but most relievers have an ERA around four unless you are Kenley Jansen or Mariano Rivera.
Many Dodger fans may recognize Kelly’s name for two reasons: He was the Cardinals pitcher that broke Hanley Ramirez’s rib in the 2013 NLCS and he was the Red Sox pitcher who struck everyone out in the 2018 World Series. Kelly has since apologized for the broken rib incident and has stated that he hopes people will forgive him when the Dodgers bring home a World Series. Following the 2018 World Series, Joe Kelly signed a 3-year, $24 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
I think a fun fact about Joe Kelly is that he pitched against the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series and lost but came back five years later to help the Red Sox win the championship.
With all of that being said, welcome to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Joe Kelly!
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