There’s a scene towards the end of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley where Steinbeck climbs Fremont Peak to look out one last time over his native stretch of California:
I printed once more on my eyes, south, west, and north, and then we hurried away from the permanent and changeless past where my mother is always shooting a wildcat and my father is always burning his name with his love.
Joe Kelly debuted at Busch Stadium. It happened 12 years ago this June. He pitched five innings for a team then named the St. Louis Cardinals against a team then named the Cleveland Indians. The first MLB hitter he faced was Shin-Soo Choo, and in the third inning, Choo scored the first MLB run Joe Kelly ever allowed. Carlos Santana was the first batter Joe Kelly ever struck out in an MLB game, something to keep in mind if the Dodgers meet the Twins in this year’s World Series. Joe Kelly was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 5th, because pinch-hitters were something pitchers were lifted for back then. Joe Kelly took a no-decision, having struck out four and allowed just the one run.
This weekend might mark Joe Kelly’s last trip up that Busch Stadium hill. Even if the world doesn’t erupt into a ball of fire this winter due to a bizarre mistake made by a giant child playing with matches, Joe Kelly may retire this offseason, or he may find himself on the IL when his employer travels to St. Louis next summer. In a development aided by Joe Kelly’s performance last night, it’s unlikely the Cardinals will play postseason baseball this year, and it’s less likely still that they’ll host postseason baseball. Depending how these next two days go, Joe Kelly might have summited that bump last night for the very last time.
Did he print the south, west, and north upon his eyes once more?
Or was he too busy body-checking a Paul Goldschmidt line drive, then throwing the two-time 20–20 man out at first base?
It was a good outing from our hero. One walk, yielded to Brendan Donovan, but he retired Goldschmidt to open the inning and he struck out Pedro Pagés to close the book, keeping the Los Angeles lead at one run over the hitters in between. One of many Dodgers to take the hill last night, he passed the game along, helping earn a young lefty named Justin Wrobleski his first career win.
Will the names Wrobleski and Pagés and Goldschmidt make a mark on St. Louis history like those of Choo and Santana long ago? Will the rubber at Busch Stadium one day bear an invisible 8/16/24 insignia known only to the faithful? Will the giant child playing with matches pause, remember his mother’s wisdom, and turn to safer sport? We never know what lies before us on the great tapestry of time. We only know that last night, Joe Kelly won the Dodgers a baseball game, and he did it at the place where he won so many for the Cardinals years and years ago.
