The Dodgers and Astros met on July 28th for the first time since the Astros’ elaborate sign-stealing scandal became exposed.
The Astros defeated the Dodgers four games to three to win the 2017 World Series. That victory is significantly tainted, as the Astros had a scheme working to steal their opposition’s signs, dating back to the 2017 season. This scheme included banging on cans to advise the batter of which pitch was coming, to the alleged more technology-driven method of hitters wearing buzzers while at bat.
During Spring Training earlier this year, several Astros players were hit by pitches, as the rest of MLB expressed its displeasure. On July 28th, matters came to a head when the Dodgers, who were most impacted by the suspected cheating, faced the Astros.
Joe Kelly was on the mound for the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kelly is an interesting player in this saga, as he was a member of the Red Sox in 2017, when they lost the ALDS to the Astros, and now is a member of the Dodgers with an opportunity to curry favor with his new teammates.
Kelly threw behind Alex Bregman (in the direction of Bregman’s head), then later in the inning, threw near Carlos Correa‘s head before striking him out. After the strikeout to end the inning, Kelly and Correa jawed at each other, resulting in the benches clearing.
You can view the brush up in the video below.
MLB responded quickly, issuing an eight-game suspension to Kelly, and a one-game suspension to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. The eight-game suspension for Kelly is the equivalent of a 22-game suspension in a full 162 game season. Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic tweeted that he feels Kelly’s suspension is harsh.
Opinion:
I understand that Kelly and the Dodgers are upset by the Astros’ scandal. The Dodgers may have been denied a championship, and Kelly’s Red Sox may have been denied a trip to the 2017 ALCS. However, Joe Kelly, you’re wrong here. Throwing at someone’s head is never okay. If you want to make your point, as Tom Seaver used to say, “drill him in the ribs”.
Further, to a degree, the animosity that teams feel towards the Astros is at least in part exacerbated by the way Commissioner Rob Manfred handled the situation last off season. Manfred offered immunity to Astros’ players in return for their honest testimony, while the cheating scandal was investigated. Astros’ manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow were suspended after the investigation, and both were later fired by the Astros.
Carlos Beltran ultimately lost his job as Mets’ manager (having never managed a game) because of the scandal, as did Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
Many players feel the Astros players were never fully held accountable, and opposing players have been taking matters into to their own hands to exact their measure of revenge.
Before someone gets seriously hurt, the headhunting needs to stop. MLB’s harsh suspension of Kelly may be a step in the direction of a palpable deterrent.
