About
Joe Kelly
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Right
Bats: Right
6-1, 190lb
Team: Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB)
Born: June 9, 1988
Age: 30
Hometown: Corona, CA
Current Town: Rancho Cucamonga
“I just get the shark eyes … something goes off in my head where I get super laser focused and just black out.” – Joe Kelly
Joseph William Kelly Jr, born June 9, 1988, is a World Champion Major League Baseball pitcher and currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Joe Kelly was born in the city of Anaheim, California to Andrea Valencia and Joe Kelly Sr. Kelly Jr. played baseball on a scholarship to the University of California, Riverside.
He married long time girlfriend Ashley Parks in November 2013. They have one son named Knox. Knox also loves baseball.
Kelly played collegiate baseball for the Highlanders of University California, Riverside. He attended UCR on a baseball scholarship out of Corona High School. After joining the Highlanders as an outfielder, he was quickly moved to the pitching mound at the suggestion of coaches Doug Smith and Andrew Ricketts.
With UCR, he twice earned Big West Conference Pitcher of The Year awards (2007, 2009), and helped lead his team to the Big West Conference Championship in 2007. He was named a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine, and First-Team All-Conference. He finished his college career with 24 careers saves, a still-standing Highlanders record.
Joe Kelly won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2007 Pan-American Games and pitched for the third place finishing US Team at the 2007 World Port Tournament.
On June 9, 2009 — his 21st birthday — Joe was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2009 MLB first-year player draft. After making his way through the Cardinals’ system, Kelly made his Major League debut on June 10, 2012 — one day after his 24th birthday.
Joe Kelly appeared in 68 regular season games, 11 postseason games, and 1 World Series with the Cardinals before being traded to the Boston Red Sox at the trading deadline of 2014. His first start for the Red Sox came 6 days later against his former club in St. Louis.
Kelly’s tenure with the Red Sox included appearing in 250 regular season games, 13 postseason games, and resulted in 1 World Series Championship.
After becoming a free agent following the 2018 World Series, Kelly signed a 3-year, $25M deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Career Timeline
2012 – 2014
St. Louis Cardinals
Joe Kelly made his Major League debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 10, 2012. He faced the Cleveland Indians and allowed 1 run over 5.1 IP, walking away with a no decision.
Across his 3 seasons with St. Louis, Kelly accumulated a 17-14 record in 68 games (38 starts), and posted a 3.25 ERA. He appeared in 5 playoff series across the 2012 and 2013 seasons going 0-1 in 11 games (4 starts) with a 3.71 ERA in 29.1 IP.
Joe was traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 2014 season.
2014 – 2018
Boston Red Sox
After being acquired by the Red Sox from the Cardinals on July 31, 2014, Joe Kelly made his first start for Boston in St. Louis against his former club.
Across 5 seasons with Boston, Kelly accumulated a 26-11 record in 182 games (41 starts) with a 4.33 ERA.
In 5 playoff series with Boston, Kelly appeared in 14 games while recording a 2-1 record and .52 ERA across 17.2 IP. His 2018 World Series run of 5 scoreless games resulted in his glasses being enshrined in baseball’s Hall of Fame.
2019 –
Los Angeles Dodgers
After the 2018 World Series, Joe Kelly became a free agent for the first time in his career. During the MLB Winter Meetings, Kelly came to an agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 3-year contract.
On December 21, 2018, the deal was officially announced by the club.
His first appearance in a Dodger uniform came during Los Angeles’ “Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour”, culminating in the annual FanFest event at Dodger Stadium.
Career Overview
(For more detailed MLB stats, please view the Advanced Stats page)
Years
9 years
5 years
3 years
Team
MLB
BOS
STL
Won
48
26
17
Lost
29
11
14
ERA
3.91
4.33
3.25
G
307
182
68
GS
79
41
38
IP
678.2
359.1
266.0
SO
563
319
179
BB
279
164
90
MLB CAREER TOTALS
MLB CAREER TOTALS
W - 43
L - 25
ERA - 3.87
G - 250
GS - 79
IP - 625.1
SO - 498
BB - 254
FIP - 4.02
WAR - 6.1