Although Major League Baseball is facing additional questions centered around their handling and punishment of the Houston Astros, the spotlight in some regard has shifted to an investigation of the Boston Red Sox.
Just as the Astros in 2017, the Red Sox are the subject of allegations they electronically stole signs during their World Series run in 2018. The Los Angeles Dodgers, of course, were the opponent in both of those matchups for the title.
They became further intertwined with the Red Sox by signing Joe Kelly to a three-year contract in December 2018. Kelly struggled through much of the season that year before righting the ship and becoming a key contributor for the Red Sox en route to defeating the Dodgers in five games.
Like Tyler White with the Astros, Kelly figures to have firsthand knowledge of the Red Sox’s operations that now are under scrutiny. But the right-hander would not say whether or not MLB’s forthcoming ruling would change his view of Boston’s championship.
“I mean, I’m not going to base my answer on what-ifs,” Kelly said at Dodgers FanFest. “I guess I’d have to get to that point to understand.”
Where Kelly was adamant, however, was how unlikely it would have been for the Red Sox to orchestrate a cheating scheme. “It’s virtually impossible for any kind of suspected cheating to happen, especially in the postseason,” he said.
“It’s one of those things as players we all know how we feel about things. Especially in ’18, it’s kind of like escaping Alcatraz — it’s pretty hard to do something, especially in the playoffs.
“Honestly I don’t know about ’17. I just know, remembering from ’18, that I would walk into the clubhouse wondering who all these randoms were. And I’m a loud guy, so I would make it known. I thought they were CDT (Comprehensive Drug Testing) at first. So I could base my answer on ’18. It would be something that I kind of want to know (if the Red Sox cheated), honestly.”
When asked if he’d spoken with former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was found by MLB to be a central figure in the Astros’ cheating, Kelly answered, “No, I have not.”
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