(KMOX) - It was really just a matter of time before one (and maybe more) Major League Baseball pitchers decided to take matters into their own hands and punish Houston Astros players for stealing signs en route to a 2017 World Series championship.
Joe Kelly cast the first stone on Tuesday night in the LA Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Astros. The former Cardinals pitcher – who lost to the Astros in the 2017 Postseason with the Red Sox Boston – caused a bench-clearing standoff after throwing a couple of wild pitches in the 6th inning.
LA had a 5-2 lead when Kelly first threw behind Alex Bregman on a 3-0 count, then Bregman grimaced after jumping to avoid being hit, then trotted to first base. Then later that inning, with two on and Carol Correa at the plate, he threw an errant breaking ball over Correa’s head. Correa struck out later that at-bat and Kelly then stuck out his tongue and made a face in his direction.
Correa started walking toward him and the players exchanged words, prompting the benches to clear in the first such incident of this pandemic-delayed season. There was plenty of yelling and crowding — outlawed as MLB tries to play a 60-game season amid the pandemic — but there was no pushing or punches thrown.
Kelly denied the claims that his throws were purposely aimed at the players. He was also asked if there was any added motivation since his Red Sox team lost to Houston in the AL Division Series in 2017.
"No. When I was with the Red Sox we beat them in '18," he said. "It's one of those things that I pitch competitively. With no fans here, it’s easy to hear some stuff (from the opposing dugout) ... there’s something they apparently didn’t take too kind to."
To summarize the sign-stealing scandal in short:
MLB announced the punishment for the Astros in January after the league found Houston had illegally created a system – using a camera in center field and banging a trash can in the dugout – to relay pitches to the batter during its 2017 championship season. The Astros defeated the Dodgers in the World Series that year.
The punishment included both Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow being suspended without pay for one season, forfeiture of the teams regular first and second-round selections in 2020 and 2021 drafts, as well as a $5 million fine. Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane fired both managers the same day.
The players involved were never punished.