Dodgers reveal controversial hero as ceremonial first pitch for Game 1 vs. Reds
The Dodgers could have any number of people throw out their ceremonial first pitch in every game they play this postseason. This year alone, they've had world-famous athletes, K-pop stars, LA icon Kobe Bryant's daughter Bianka, players' kids, and so on. An untold number of celebrities have been spotted at Dodger Stadium throughout the season.
But instead of any of the diehard celebrity Dodgers fans out there, the team will instead have...former middle reliever Joe Kelly throw out the first pitch for Game 1 against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Dodgers have a fondness for Kelly that some fans just can't make sense of. Sure, he spent five years with the club and a pretty good 2021 season, and he technically won two World Series with LA, but he sat out of the entire 2024 run and posted a 4.78 ERA in the regular season. He was also reportedly working up toward a major league tryout with LA this season (he insisted that he would only sign with the Dodgers) that clearly didn't work out, because he's still contract-less.
Sounds like the Dodgers said, "Thanks, but no thanks. Would you prefer to throw a single, meaningless, and probably not televised ceremonial pitch instead?"
Dodgers tab former reliever Joe Kelly to throw out ceremonial first pitch in Wild Card Game 1 vs. Reds
Maybe Kelly's viral shenanigans against Carlos Correa and the Astros in 2020 really were all that was needed to turn a player into a folk hero?
It's been sort of a nostalgia-tinged year for the Dodgers overall. They've welcomed multiple players who left in the offseason (or were traded away) back to Dodger Stadium to present their World Series rings, they're saying goodbye to Clayton Kershaw, and so on. Maybe they just want to give Dodgers fans one last and very obvious reminder of their recent glories ahead of their long trek back to the Fall Classic (even though Kelly didn't pitch in October 2024).
Maybe they're keeping their heavy hitters in the chamber for a possible NLDS, NLCS, and World Series. We guess you can't get Ice Cube to do a pregame show at every postseason game.
Aaron Boone Sends Message On Red Sox Star Three Years After Ugly Yankees Exit
Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman will look to redefine his postseason legacy after the best regular season of his career.
At age 37, Chapman signed a one-year, $10.75 million contract with the Red Sox last November. It seemed like a risky bet on a 16th-year flamethrower, but it turned out to be the best possible decision the Red Sox could have made for their bullpen.
After putting up a remarkable 1.17 ERA during the regular season, Chapman turns his focus to the playoffs on Tuesday. And fittingly enough, he'll take on the team with whom he had an immeasurable number of ups and downs over the years.
Aaron Boone on Aroldis Chapman
Three years after the New York Yankees left Chapman off their playoff roster in his seventh and final season with the team, following his decision to skip a mandatory workout during the team's week off, he'll face off against his former team for the first time in October.
However, if there's any ill will left over from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, he wasn't willing to share it before the series.
“This might be his best season or certainly one of them, and that’s saying something,” Boone said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “We’ve got to see him here a couple times down the stretch. Hopefully that’s something that serves us well.
“But their bullpen has, I feel like, done a really good job of coming together. They got some different looks down there, too. They brought up some people that could play meaningful roles down there as well. So they’ll be a challenge.”
Chapman had a 2.94 ERA and 153 saves for the Yankees, making three of his nine All-Star appearances in the pinstripes. But his time there will always be remembered for the big hits he gave up -- namely, Jose Altuve's walk-off home run to end New York's season in 2019, and Mike Brosseau's home run the next season that effectively did the same.
During that 2022 season, Chapman also had to miss time late in the season due to an infection in his leg from a botched tattoo, adding to Yankee fans' consternation.
If Chapman shuts the Yankees down for a save or two in this series, it's hard to imagine those fans will grow any more sympathetic.
