Dodgers: Joe Kelly Sees Plenty of Positives in Playing Without Fans

Dodgers fans might not agree, but Joe Kelly brings up a lot of good points in looking at the bright side of playing without fans. He talked about those positives with am570 on an Instagram live session on Thursday. 

Interestingly enough, one of the first things the Dodgers’ reliever brings up is stolen bases. In his mind, stolen bases will probably go down in 2020 without fans in the stands.

If you think about it, there’s gonna be less stolen bases this year…when there’s fans…it’s loud. If you’re at Dodger Stadium and you’re on the mound, unless your first baseman wants to look like a complete dork out there screaming and shouting and jumping…now there’s no fans. You can hear normal communication. 

He brings up a good point, in that it will be much easier for pitchers to know when runners are getting big leads after they come set. A first baseman could literally just talk to the pitcher while holding the runner without the sound of fans that would normally drown out communication. 

Kelly also noted that playing without fans really lets you hear every word players say. While that can be bad for guys like Walker Buehler, it will be interesting when teams get to hear other teams talking trash. The Dodgers’ Kelly is all sorts of ready for that aspect of the game.

Now chirping guys, talking mess, I can’t say the other stuff. You know talking, going back and forth with the other teams, you know what I mean. That’s what fires me up. And now, we’ll be able to hear all of that. 

Whatever our thoughts are on Kelly’s opinions, you can’t help but think how different the game will be in 2020. There won’t be any Dodgers fans at Chavez Ravine in 2020, but you bet we’ll be cheering at home. 

Dodgers: Friedman Confirms Positive COVID Tests Within Organization