Dodgers speak out against Joe Kelly suspension

Members of the Dodgers have spoken out about Joe Kelly’s harsh suspension.

There was expected to be plenty of bad blood between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros this season. Joe Kelly found himself as the chief instigator Tuesday night when he decided to throw at some Astros hitters.

This caused the benches to clear, which is banned in 2020, and Kelly also became a meme by mocking Carlos Correa after a strikeout. However, he was also hit with an eight-game suspension. That is a significant ban in a normal season, let alone a year with only 60 games. Members of the Dodgers were not happy with the suspension that keeps him out for nearly one-sixth of the year.

Dodgers not happy with Kelly’s ban

A weird aspect to this story is that Kelly just joined the Dodgers in 2019. He was clearly harboring some hate toward the Astros anyway and decided to send a message.

Is it right to throw at someone’s head? No, not at all. But Kelly is not the first player to do such a thing and his suspension is the equivalent to a 22-game ban in a 162-game season.

The issue here is that Kelly instigated a situation where it is customary for the benches to clear. That seems to be why MLB handed down such a big suspension. The message is now that such actions will not be tolerated with the knowledge of what will follow.

The Dodgers are standing behind their guy and it is easy to see why the team is outraged. The Astros launched an elaborate sign-stealing operation that may have cost the Dodgers the 2017 World Series. Zero players were punished. Kelly throws at a few batters, which is common in baseball, and received a substantial ban.

This will only add fuel to the Dodgers’ collective anger and this rivalry gets to continue in 2020 thanks to the unique schedule.