Joe Kelly

At 35 years old, Joe Kelly has this physical status:

Joseph William Kelly Jr. (born June 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has served as both a starter as well as a reliever.

Listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg), Kelly throws and bats right-handed.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Kelly in the third round of the 2009 MLB draft.

He pitched for the Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox before joining the Dodgers in 2019. Kelly has gained publicity for his comical repertoire, such as dancing in the outfield during practice, disguising himself while interviewing the unwitting rapper Nelly, and engaging in a lengthy staredown with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke before a 2013 National League Championship Series game.

Personal life

Joe Kelly married Ashley Parks, daughter of former Minnesota Twins catcher Derek Parks, in November 2013. Kelly shared a condominium, for a time, with Shelby Miller, with whom he competed for a rotation spot during spring training 2013. Kelly met his wife while attending UCR. Kelly also has a son and a set of twins. He and his family reside in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Kelly has showcased his jocular side on occasions besides the 2013 NLCS. While rapper Nelly, a self-professed Cardinals fan and "unofficial mayor" of St. Louis, interviewed with Fox Sports Midwest's Jim Hayes before a game in 2013 featuring his bobblehead giveaway, Hayes welcomed "an older member of the Cardinals organization" to participate. This older member was Kelly wearing a mask of a bald, elderly man. Nelly never guessed it was a prank until Kelly revealed himself after the interview.

Kelly's mother, Andrea Valencia, is Mexican-American. Earlier in the 2013 season, Kelly was spotted dancing salsa in the outfield. He attributed this urge to dance salsa to moves his mother taught him after urging him to take lessons when he was a child. Kelly notably wore a charro jacket in celebration of his Mexican heritage to the Dodgers’ championship trip to the White House following the 2020 season, trending on the internet as a meme and leading multiple fans to sell photoshopped pictures of Kelly in front of the Tapatio logo.

Kelly grew up an Angels fan.

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Early life and amateur career

Joseph Kelly Sr., a former football player who spent his undergraduate years at Vanderbilt University and played for the San Diego Chargers, is Kelly's uncle. Kelly was born in Anaheim, California, and attended Corona High School in Corona, California. He played for the Highlanders in California, Riverside (UCR), and graduated from high school. He converted to pitcher in college and spent as the closer in a high school outfielder. In 2007, he was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year as a freshman. He played summer baseball for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League during his sophomore season in 2008. Kelly set a new low-loss record in 2009, posting a 5.65 earned run average (ERA) of 5.65. Kelly set a career high with 24 saves in his career and was named an All-American. His final career statistics at UCR included a 4.65 ERA and an 8–11 record in 42 games.

Professional career

Kelly was drafted in the third round of the 2009 MLB draft and signed him on June 15 for $341,000. Kelly made his professional baseball debut with the Batavia Muckdogs of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, where he appeared in 16 games (two starts), with a 4.75 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30+1 innings pitched.

Kelly was mainly used by the Cardinals as a starting pitcher for the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits in 2010 to get him more innings and develop his secondary pitches. He excelled in his position and remained a starter. Kelly played in 26 games (18 starts) and 103+1,315 runs, totaling 92 strikeouts and 45 walks with a 6.62 ERA and 6–8 record.

Kelly pitched for the Class A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League in 2011 and then the Texas League's Double-A Springfield Cardinals. Kelly played in 23 games (22 starts) and pitched 132 innings, totaling 113 strikeouts and 59 walks, with an 11–6 record and a 3.68 ERA. He had a 2.86 ERA in 12 games with the Memphis Redbirds in 2012 (all start).

Kelly made his MLB debut on June 10, replacing Jaime Garca in the Cardinals' starting lineup, after he was injured. Kelly pitched seven innings against the Cleveland Indians, allowing seven hits and one run while striking out four batters in the game, despite receiving no decision. Kelly re-integrated into the rotation after Garca's return to the rotation; however, team officials expressed so much interest in keeping him in the rotation and moving Lance Lynn to the bullpen. Kelly also played in 24 games (16 starts) during his 2012 Cardinals career, with a 3.53 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 107 innings pitched.

The 2012 National League Division Series was Kelly's first MLB postseason match against the Washington Nationals. He appeared in three games and pitched 3+2/3 innings of relief without losing a single run or a hit; he walked one batter and struck out three batters out three batters. The Cardinals then advanced to the 2012 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants. Kelly came on to pitch in the third inning with the Giants up 2–0 bases loaded and no outs; he surrendered two hits and two walks, totaling just 2/3 of an inning, and the Giants led by 7–0, in a game that would go on to win 9–0. Kelly made four appearances in relief, pitching a total of four innings; he gave up six runs and was charged with two earned runs; while walking three batters and striking out two batters.

Kelly lost his rotation spot to rookie Shelby Miller in 2013 and was relegated to the bullpen for the first half of the season, seeing little use. However, after being reintroduced into the rotation in order to improve its efficiency, he became known as a "stopper." Kelly finished 5–0 with a 2.08 ERA in August. He left 83.3% of baserunners as a reliever and 82% as a starter. He made all three of his appearances against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished third in the season three games behind the Cardinals. Kelly made 37 appearances (15 starts) in the 2013 Cardinals' regular season, with 79 strikeouts in 124 innings pitched.

On September 22, Kelly displayed some of his speed as a former center fielder against the Milwaukee Brewers. With the throw and sprinted after him, Gómez, a fast center fielder with 37 stolen bases at the time, was attempting to return to third base. Kelly met up with Gómez, a dove, and tracked him out just steps away from the bag.

Kelly made his first postseason appearance against the Pirates in the 2013 National League Division Series on October 6, receiving a no decision in Game 3. In Game 1 of the NLCS, he had the same result, as well as a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5.

In Game 6, Kelly and the Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke caused a stir before the first pitch by participating in a lengthy staredown. After the conclusion of "The Star-Spangled Banner," both men stayed on the field long after the majority of their teammates had left the field to await the game's start. They stayed in their positions with hats over their chests through the ground crew's fieldwork and starting pitcher Michael Wacha's warmup pitches. Greg Gibson, the enraged home plate umpire, handed the ball to both players for about 15 minutes. Kelly had smiled first and Van Slyke had first moved from his position, claiming "victory."

In Game 3, Kelly got his first World Series start against the Boston Red Sox. He was a no decision in a 5:4 Cardinal win, pitching 5+13 innings, striking out six batters and walking three batters. In six games, the Cardinals lost the series.

Kelly won his debut on April 5 after the Cardinals beat the Pirates 6–1, despite allowing 10 base runners in 5+13 innings. For his first hit of the season, he beat starting pitcher Francisco Liriano. He spent the majority of the first half of the disabled list, but after recovering in Triple-A Memphis, he was activated to face the Milwaukee Brewers on July 11.

In his return, he earned six runs but got a no call when Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta, Kolten Wong, and Matt Adams all homered to give the Cardinals a comeback victory. His next game against the Dodgers on July 19 was a strong seven-inning effort that tied for his longest career outing. Kelly appeared in seven games (all starts) for the Cardinals during the 2014 season, pitching 35 innings and compiling a 2–2 record with 4.37 ERA prior to his move to Boston at the end of July.

Kelly, 31, 31, had a 17.25 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 68 games (38 starts) in three seasons with St. Louis.

Kelly was traded to the Boston Red Sox along with first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig for starting pitcher John Lackey and minor league pitcher Corey Littrell on July 31, 2014. Kelly went 4–2 in ten starts for Boston, a 4.11 ERA in August and September, while still allowing 32 walks in 61+13 innings.

Kelly made a pledge to the Boston media in January 2015 that he would win the AL Cy Young Award the following season. He began the 2015 season on the disabled list. He had his worst season in the majors, going 2–6 with a 5.74 ERA in his first 15 starts. Through July 27, he led all major league pitchers with four errors. However, he won all six starts, including a 3–1 victory over the New York Mets on August 29, making him the first Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martnez to win six in one month. In August, he lowered his ERA to 4.94. Kelly was forced to miss the October 15 due to a back injury. He made the season 10–6 in 25 starts on the season with a 4.82 ERA.

Kelly was placed on the disabled list early in the 2016 season, with a right shoulder injury on April 20. He made a no-hitter streak against the Cleveland Indians for 6+2/3 innings before Juan Uribe broke it up with a double; Boston won, 9-1. However, Kelly's next two innings was limited to 4+2/3 and 2+13. Kelly's time with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in Boston was as a relief pitcher by the end of the 2016 season. He finished the 2016 regular season with 20 MLB appearances (six starts) and a record of 4–0.

Kelly made three appearances in the 2016 American League Division Series in his new relief capacity. As the Red Sox were defeated by the Cleveland Indians, he pitched a total of 3+2/3 innings, retiring all 11 batters, including three strikeouts.

Kelly stayed in his role as a member of the Red Sox bullpen during the 2017 season. He made 54 appearances during the regular season, all in relief, compiling a 2.79 ERA in 58 innings pitched, with 52 strikeouts and 27 walks. Aroldis Chapman and Felipe Vázquez's fastest pitch of 2017 was 102.2 miles per hour, third-best in MLB, only to pitches by Aroldis Chapman and Felipe Vázquez. In 2017, his two-seam and four-seam fastballs reached their second- and third fastest average speeds of any MLB pitcher's pitches, at 98.9%.

As the Red Sox lost to the eventual World Series champion, the Houston Astros, Kelly pitched in two of the series's four games, allowing no walks and four hits with a single strikeout in 2+23 innings of scoreless relief.

Following a downfall by Austin in which he was accused of spiking infielder Brock Holt early in the 2018 season, Kelly hit Tyler Austin with a pitch on April 11 at Fenway Park. Austin charged Kelly and launched a bench-clearing brawl; four players, including Kelly, were suspended. This was Kelly's first demise in his career. Kelly was suspended by MLB for six games and fined an undisclosed amount, but he appealed later, allowing him to continue playing until the appeal process was complete. Kelly's appeal was dismissed on April 26, indicating that his suspension would go into place from that date. Kelly watched a game at Fenway Park from the bleacher seats during his suspension. He appeared in 73 games for the Red Sox, finishing with a 4.39 ERA in 65+2/3 innings. Kelly made nine appearances in the playoffs, pitching 11+1/3 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out 13. In five games, the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in relief, with him as the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the World Series.

Kelly signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 21, 2018. For a fourth year, the deal included a $12 million option. Kelly struggled in the early season of the season and had an 8.35 ERA on June 1, causing him to be booed by the homefield crowds. However, after tweaking his delivery, he became one of the team's best bullpen weapons the remainder of the season, posting a 3.15 ERA in the second half.

In 55 relief appearances in which he struck out 62 batters in 51+1/3 innings, he finished 2019 with a 5–4 record and one save, as well as a 4.56 ERA in 55 relief appearances. Kelly lost in Game 5 of the National League Division Series for the 10th time in a row, but was tagged with the loss.

Kelly was banned from eight games after throwing Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros out of the game, sparking a bench clearing brawl. In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, he played in 12 games and allowed two earned runs in ten innings. He appeared in five games in the postseason, including two against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series. As the Dodgers captured the title, he allowed only one run in 3+2/3 innings.

Kelly played in 48 games for the Dodgers in 2021, with a 2.86 ERA, two saves, and 50 strikeouts in 44 innings. He pitched 5+1,3 innings in seven games through the Wild Card Game, NLDS, and NLCS, allowing three runs on five hits in the postseason. He was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs while serving as an opener in Game 5 of the NLCS. Kelly declined the 2022 option on Friday, making him a free agent.

Kelly agreed to a two-year, $17 million contract with a team option for the 2024 season with the Chicago White Sox on March 14, 2022. Kelly came off the injured list early in the season, with the biceps strain still recovering. Kelly was activated from the IL on May 9, which was the start of the year. He made his White Sox debut against the Cleveland Guardians on 7th inning going 1 inning, while giving 2 hits and striking out Franmil Reyes for his first White Sox strikeout on Saturday.

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