Ex-Dodgers star Joe Kelly shares unsettling account of suffering physical assault at USSSA World Series

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly played in the major leagues for more than a decade but it did not prepare him for what was to come at the USSSA World Series.

Joe Kelly served as the coach for USSSA Lake Area Rattlers, a team his son, Knox, represented. During the team's last game, the two-time World Series winner had a "mind-blowing experience."

With his team leading 4-3, Joe Kelly, who was sitting on the bucket on the sidelines, going through the opposition's lineup, heard a fan shouting at him. In the latest episode of "Baseball Isn't Boring," Kelly recalled an unsettling encounter from the event.

"I have my glasses on and like ‘Are you afraid you’re going to lose to Assault? I was like, ‘What?’ and then this person leans over, ‘Yeah, you heard me. Are you afraid you’re going to lose to Assault?’” Kelly recalled (9:00 onwards). “And then, all of a sudden, I get my hat flicked off. Like, who does that?”

"So then I go on the ground to pick it up and turn around and all of a sudden a fist punches me in the forehead."

After Kelly was struck by the fan, the umpire and other coaches urged to end the game and call the cops. However, the former Dodgers reliever said he wanted the game to continue as it would have been unfair on the players despite his team being the favorites in the contest.

Joe Kelly refused to end the game after a physical altercation

Joe Kelly claimed it was "unacceptable behaviour" for someone to get involved in a physical altercation at a nine-year-old's game and said the opposition team had a history of doing that.

While the umpires said it wasn't safe to continue the game after the altercation, Kelly said he liked some of the players on the opposition team and felt it would've been unfair on them if the game ended prematurely.

Kelly asked the umpire to call the cops for physical assault on the field but only after the game ended.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash