He may be facing MLB anger, but Joe Kelly has plenty of players on his side.
The Dodgers reliever received an eight-game suspension on Wednesday after pitching against Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa. Kelly is typically wild, but facing the Astros for the first time since it was discovered that they had illegally stolen signs en route to the 2017 World Series victory over the Dodgers, it didn’t seem like a coincidence.
While the Astros were granted immunity for clearing their traps, Kelly was disciplined for her actions in Tuesday night’s game, which lit a bank by exchanging words.
“It makes zero sense, Ken,” Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman tweeted in response to news from Ken Rosenthal about the suspension. “He wasn’t even kicked out of the game. MLB supporting / protecting a team that openly and knowingly cheated on a World Series. It does not deserve to be suspended at all. Hoping it will win its appeal. Hope to see you out there again, JK!
“And what do star players Jon deserve?” Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger tweeted another tweet from the news. “He just blew and walked free and still seems confused as to why everyone is angry?”
Kelly allegedly said to Correa, “Nice swing b – h,” and walked off the field grimacing at him before the benches cleared.
Kelly wasn’t in the 2017 Dodgers, but he was in that year’s Red Sox, which they lost to the Astros in the playoffs.
The Astros seemed destined for a season filled with anger directed at them, whether by fans or other players, but that changed slightly when the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the schedule, limited their number of opponents, and kept fans out of the stadium. .
However, based on the support Kelly has received from fellow players, he may not be alone in his feelings.
“Absolute joke,” Dodgers teammate Jimmy Nelson tweeted.
“I FREE JOE KELLY💯” added Angels pitcher Kenyan Middleton.
“😂😂😂 8 games! What a joke … @mlb is so smooth it’s kind of embarrassing … people should keep cheating because there are apparently 0 game suspensions for that 😂,” the former Angels pitcher tweeted. Jered Weaver.
Kelly is currently appealing her suspension. Until finalized, support tweets will keep coming.
“Joe Kelly can throw me at any time!” Former Mets pitcher Frank Viola tweeted. “Period … Get it !!! It’s a shame others don’t see it!”
“Astros players for ’17 WS = Immunity,” former infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. tweeted, “Joe Kelley doesn’t hit anyone = he suspended 8 games. Justice?!? #MLB”
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