Longtime MLB pitcher Joe Kelly has urged baseball fans not to write off the national pastime amid the sport's ongoing lockout.
The veteran reliever took to the pages of the Los Angeles Times on Thursday to remind enthusiasts that baseball is "the thinking man's game," a richly rewarding slow burn in a world of "instant gratification."
Baseball has allowed me plenty of wake-up calls. Maybe this is the time for one more for us all.
This should be the reminder that baseball is a book, not a sentence. ... If you’re patient enough, you can see that baseball is a combination of chess, ballet, a classroom and cannon fire.
The two-time World Series winner said he felt compelled to get out his message because the game seems to be at a "crossroads" amid a lockout that brought the "momentum of 2021" to an abrupt halt.
The 33-year-old hard-throwing right-hander has emerged as one of the game's more colorful characters throughout his eventful career, perhaps most famously after he brushed back several Astros stars in apparent retaliation for Houston's sign-stealing scandal.
Kelly trolled visibly irked Astros star Carlos Correa with an exaggerated pouty face, becoming an instant meme and a hero to players and fans who were upset over the sign stealing. The highly publicized stunt was immortalized in Los Angeles, where Kelly's face was plastered on a mural on Sunset Boulevard.
Kelly also turned heads when he donned a mariachi suit during the Dodgers' visit to the White House last June to celebrate their 2020 World Series title.
But his old feud with the Astros seems to be far less of a concern amid tough negotiations with MLB's club owners.
Don’t forget why baseball is so awesome. ... I haven’t, and never will.
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