We are approximately two hours away from the first pitch of what might be the final game of the Dodgers’ 2023 season. It’s a last stand, perhaps the first among many this month, perhaps the first among just one. For Dodgers fans still not comfortable calling 2020 a full title, or at least those sensitive to others’ statements that it isn’t, a loss tonight means five and a half months of angry waiting kicked off by three weeks of grumbled what-ifs. For the rest of us, it’s something much bigger.
Tonight could be the last time we ever see Joe Kelly in a Dodgers uniform.
Joe Kelly isn’t going anywhere within the world of baseball. Only 35 years old and already tenth all-time in postseason appearances by a pitcher (and he came up as a starter!), Joe Kelly will be a presence in our lives for a long while, a looming specter striking fear into the minds of the hearts of many an order between now and the inevitable heat death of the universe. The question is whether that will be with the Dodgers.
We’ve done this dance before. In 2021, Joe Kelly started Game 5 of the NLCS, a Dodgers win in what would go on to be a series loss to Atlanta. We knew at the time that the night was historic, but we didn’t realize until the offseason just how historic it would be. That winter, Joe Kelly signed with the White Sox, leaving his home state for what was designed to be two or three seasons in the AL Central. Fate has brought him back, but whether he stays in Los Angeles or not will be up to mortals. The Dodgers hold a $9.5M option on the bullpen ace for 2024, with a $1M buyout (either way, they gotta give him that one mill). Is Joe Kelly worth that much money? Of course. But we do not make the decisions in the Dodgers front office. If we did, maybe those fans wouldn’t still feel like they were in a World Series drought (just kidding, we would probably make the Dodgers lose).
So, with the echo of Monday night’s inspiring inning and two-thirds fresh in our souls, we lock in for Game 3, watching that visiting bullpen in earnest, waiting for the moment when Dave Roberts comes to the mound and waves his right hand in the air, beckoning to Joe Kelly and placing the ball, the game, and the season in his flamethrowing right hand. We watch for Joe Kelly, wearing the Dodger blue. For what might be the last time.
