A Look Back At Joe Kelly’s Best Moments As A St. Louis Cardinal

Joe Kelly's intriguing career actually began in St. Louis.

Jul 25, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Joe Kelly (58) delivers in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly decided it was time to hang up his spikes and call it a career. The 37-year-old right-hander was drafted by the Cardinals back in 2009 and made his debut in 2012.

He worked as both a starter and reliever in St. Louis and pitched some big games for the team in the postseason in 2012 and 2013. He was sent to the Boston Red Sox in 2014 along with Allen Craig in the John Lackey trade.

Kelly won three World Series titles, one with Boston and two with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While his time with St. Louis was brief, he had some solid and quite funny moments in a Cardinals jersey. Here is a look at two of them.

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2013 NLCS Standoff

Oct 26, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Joe Kelly reacts after striking out Boston Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava to end the top of the fourth inning during game three of the MLB baseball World Series at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-Imagn Images | H. Darr Beiser-Imagn Images

During the Cardinals World Series run in 2013, Kelly had been trying something quite interesting on days he wasn’t pitching. Prior to games, he would stand on the sidelines after the rest of the team had left following the National Anthem. 

Nobody knew what he was doing at the time and didn’t catch on. That is, until Game 6 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Kelly’s future team. Finally, then-Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke, the son of Cardinals legend Andy Van Slyke noticed what Kelly was doing.

As Kelly stood on the sidelines, Van Slyke did the same, and both players remained there up until just before first pitch. It even forced the umpiring crew to intervene so the game could start.

Unfortunately, Kelly blinked first, but it was one of the funniest moments in recent Cardinals memory.

Pinch-Hit Single In Miami

Aug 17, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly (58) is hit by a pitch during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-Imagn Images | Dennis Wierzbicki-Imagn Images

Kelly had been called up to take Jaime Garcia’s place in the rotation after an injury in 2012. He had just made his debut and had performed quite well on the mound.

But this was before the universal designated hitter, and Kelly wasn’t a bad hitter in his own right. After the Cardinals had erased a 6-2 deficit against the Miami Marlins and taken the lead in extra innings, they needed somebody to pinch hit for the pitcher, but they were out of position players.

So, Mike Matheny chose to give Kelly a shot, and on an 0-2 pitch, he hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball to Jose Reyes. That’s when Kelly showed off another weapon of his: speed.

By just a hair, he reached first base and drove in a run with the bases loaded to make it an 8-6 game. The Marlins tallied a run in the bottom of the 10th inning, but the Cardinals held on for an 8-7 win, and Kelly’s hit proved to be the difference.

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