Editorials

Dodgers: Five Reasons Why LA Fans Love Joe Kelly

Current free agent reliever Joe Kelly has only played three seasons for the Dodgers so far, but has already endeared himself to the fans. Kelly’s vibrant personality and unfiltered interviews made him one of the more likable Dodgers in a clubhouse that was chock-full of very likable players.

In our humble opinion, here are Joe Kelly’s five most memorable moments in his time with the Dodgers.



5. Rock, Paper, Scissors

This past June, cameras caught Joe Kelly engaging a young Dodgers fan in a game of rock, paper, scissors from the bullpen at Dodger Stadium. It was a great moment between a young baseball fan and a reliever who doesn’t take himself too seriously. More importantly, it looks like Kelly won.

4. 2020 NLDS Game 2 Save

Joe Kelly merits at least a paragraph in the story of the epic Dodgers-Padres NLDS in 2020. In Game 2, closer Kenley Jansen started the ninth with a three run lead. Jansen yielded two runs as manager Dave Roberts brought in Kelly with two outs and the game on the line. After loading the bases with a pair of walks, Kelly induced a ground out to seal the win. The Dodgers would go on to win the series 3-0.

3. Breaking His Own Window

Kelly has struggled with his control at times throughout his career. That was never more apparent than when the reliever posted a video of himself accidentally breaking a window at his southern California house with an errant practice pitch. The fact that it was Joe Kelly’s wife, Ashley, who posted the video proves they were meant to be together.

2. Mariachi Joe

One cannot tell the story of Joe Kelly without including the origin story of “Mariachi Joe”. The reliever traded his jersey for a mariachi band member’s jacket while they were both on the field before a game. The jacket ended up being Kelly’s coat of choice for the Dodgers championship visit to The White House.

1. Houston Hero

The entire baseball world, excluding Houston, was up-in-arms over the fact that the Houston players received zero punishment for their role in the team’s sign-stealing scandal. Kelly took matters into his own hands, and intentional or not, threw at Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman during a regular season series in Houston in 2020.

After striking out Correa, Kelly trolled the shortstop and talked a ton of trash. It was Kelly’s way of exacting justice on Houston for not only Dodgers fans, but all baseball fans.

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Eric Eulau

Born and raised in Ventura, not "Ven-CH-ura", California. Favorite Dodger Stadium food is the old school chocolate malt with the wooden spoon. Host of the Dodgers Nation 3 Up, 3 Down Podcast.

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