Dodgers: Joe Kelly Provides Perspective On His Baseball Swagger
Reliever Joe Kelly marches to the beat of his own drum. Throughout his career, Kelly's approach to the game and vibrant personality have made him a baseball folk hero.
In an appearance on AM570's Dodger Talk with David Vassegh, Kelly discussed how he's tried to differentiate himself from the average MLB player.
"Baseball has a stigma of 'Yes sir. No sir.' Giving the boring answers. Not giving details about an injury. I've always been myself. It's got me into trouble, it's got me out of trouble. Being organic is what people want to see. I happen to be a regular person like everybody else."
Dodgers fans seemed to quickly embrace Kelly's approach to the game of baseball. There's two Kelly moments that endeared him to the LA fanbase.
Kelly's confrontation with Houston shortstop Carlos Correa in 2020 became a national story and viral moment. As a result of Houston's sign-stealing scandal, the Dodgers reliever went out of his way to taunt Correa after striking him out. Dodgers fans loved every second of it.
MLB suspended Kelly for eight games for the incident, but he was able to knock it down to five games in the appeals process.
Kelly's second Hallmark moment with the Dodgers wasn't from a game, or even a postgame interview. The reliever decided to wear a recently acquired mariachi band jacket for the Dodgers visit to the White House to celebrate the team's 2020 world championship.
The look drew rave reviews from baseball media types and Dodgers fans alike.
During his interview, the inland empire native mentioned that there's "mutual" interest in Kelly re-signing with the Dodgers.
If he doesn't re-sign, LA will lose one of its most colorful characters.
