Joe Kelly has received an eight game suspension for his actions against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. He has already said that he will begin his appeal with MLB.
In addition to Kelly being suspended, Dodgers Manager, Dave Roberts, was also suspended for one game and Houston Astros Manager, Dusty Baker, was fined.
Being suspended eight games in a 60 game season seems extremely drastic and it is. It is the equivalent of being suspended 22 games in a 162 game season. If Kelly does not win his appeal, he would be suspended the eight games and forfeit about $375,000 in salary.
Although Kelly is appealing his suspension, while he is doing so, he is allowed to be an active player. So, hypothetically, Joe Kelly could be used in the game against the Astros today.
Let’s take a look at some suspensions in baseball that were the result of fighting on the field:
- Carlos Quentin – Charged the mound towards former Dodger, Zack Greinke, and broke Greinke’s collarbone in the collision. Quentin was suspended for eight games.
- Amir Garrett – Most of us will remember last season when Amir Garrett almost fought the entire Pittsburgh Pirates team and the benches cleared. Garrett was suspended for eight games.
- Joe Kelly – Kelly was suspended in 2018 for intentionally throwing at former Yankee, Tyler Austin, and then a brawl ensued. For an actual fist fight and intentionally throwing at a player, Kelly received a five game suspension.
If MLB and Rob Manfred didn’t want the Astros to face retaliation and possibly be intentionally thrown at, they should have handed down a real harsh punishment. By not doing so, they have become one of the biggest jokes in the sports industry.
None of the players on the Houston Astros were punished and all the Astros had to do was forfeit their first and second round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, along with a $5 million fine. Other than that, the Astros did not get punished the way they should have.
Manfred should have vacated their 2017 World Series trophy and should have issued real suspensions to players like Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve. If that was done, there wouldn’t be as much hate towards the Astros.
However, now that Joe Kelly will possibly serve his suspension pending an appeal, MLB becomes a laughing stock. He will be suspended more games than any of the Houston Astros players that cheated the Los Angeles Dodgers out of a World Series.
As of now, there is no telling how long the appeal will take for Joe Kelly. With all of the backlash that MLB and Rob Manfred is facing, it is hard to believe that the eight game suspension is upheld. If MLB would like to save face, they should either reduce the suspension to about two or three games or drop it completely.
Leadoff Dodgers 