Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly didn’t mince words when asked how he responded to news of the Houston Astros cheating scandal coming to light.
Speaking with The BSBLR Show, Kelly explained that players were already well aware that the Astros were stealing signs and transmitting that information to batters via banging on trash cans.
“I said, ‘Duh,” he told host Drew Richard. “There’s no way these average players are f—ing barreling me, you know what I mean?”
Former Astro — and, briefly, Dodger — Jake Marisnick also caught a stray as Kelly made his point.
“No sh—, duh,” he said. “There’s no way Jake Marisnick could hit my f—ing slider.”
Who Knew and When Did They Know It?
In that interview, Kelly explained that the Astros’ scheme was something of an open secret in baseball. He added, though, that while players knew, members of the media seemed to be in the dark for years.
“There were already rumors,” he said. “Players knew they were cheating. You guys didn’t know.”
When the sports world became aware of the sign-stealing in 2020, Dodgers stars publicly discussed how they felt cheated out of the 2017 World Series, which the Astros won over the Dodgers in seven games.
But it was Kelly who took his teammates’ off-field comments and frustrations and channeled them into his play.
In July of that year, he took the mound against Houston and taunted the team mercilessly.
Alongside comments like “Nice swing, b—” and “Shut the f— up,” he famously made a face like that of a pouting baby at Carlos Correa, prompting the benches to clear.
Kelly wasn’t on the Dodgers during that 2017 season, though he did pitch for the Boston Red Sox, who also fell to the Astros en route to that disputed title.
One Response
It’s 2026.
The Dodgers have purchased an all-star team!
When will we move on to something that matters.