(Audacy) White Sox reliever Joe Kelly has recently increased the usage of a triple-leg kick in his delivery. Not only does that manipulate the pitch clock to buy him some time, but it also stops opposing hitters from picking up easily on what he’s throwing.
And perhaps most importantly, it can anger the opposition, as Kelly recently explained to WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” when discussing his new delivery and why he loves it so much.
Here’s a look at just how Kelly used different leg-kick variations against the Astros last Saturday.
Kelly was called for the balk in the outing prior to that because the umpires weren't accustomed to seeing the triple-leg kick. However, he explained that it’s a part of his mechanics, and they apologized the next day.
Kelly has always had a bit of variation in his delivery, but he has taken it to the next level this year.
“I only enhanced it because the chirping I get for it has made me really happy, so now I just do it even more,” Kelly said. “With good teams right now who know how to pick pitches and if you’re tipping, the way to stop tipping is to get good at it or do something different every time. I’m taking the other route. I’m doing something different every time, so you physically cannot tip if you’re doing something different every single time. That’s just given me confidence to throw my pitches over the plate with hitters not knowing what’s coming.”
The chirping is fun, but the triple-leg kick is beneficial with the pitch clock as well.
“It factors in a ton,” Kelly said. “There was a pitch the other day where the pitch clock was running out and I wanted to get my fourth pitch and I kept shaking. I had leg kicked and started my mechanics still shaking, still shaking, still shaking, and then I pitched. I had time to pretty much get to the pitch I wanted mid-leg kick.”
While the Astros chirp the most, many more are complaining about Kelly’s delivery, he said.
“Every team right now is chirping and saying I can’t do that and complaining and trying to call time and doing all this stuff,” Kelly said. “But hey, it’s not illegal.”
Kelly is having success this season, posting a 3.18 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in 11 1/3 innings across 11 appearances.
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