Joe Kelly’s alter ego has helped fix his control problems

It’s a well-known fact that relievers and left-handers are both a bit strange sometimes. Combine the two and you get people like Joe Kelly, who definitely has some quirks to him.

Kelly battled control issues throughout 2020, walking a career-worst 6.3 batters per nine innings. Things have turned around in 2021, and through 16 innings, the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever’s walks per nine are a career-low 2.3.

To what does he owe this success? According to manager Dave Roberts, it’s the fact that Kelly has an alter ego, Joseph, who is a strike thrower.

Dave Roberts said Joe Kelly came up with his own alter ego Joseph. Joseph is a strike thrower.

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) June 26, 2021

Roberts had expanded on Kelly’s alter ego after Friday’s game.

“We call him Joseph now,” Roberts said, via Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue. “He’s a strike thrower and a three-pitch guy; the fastball, curveball, changeup.”

Look, if it works, you can’t argue with results. So far, it’s working for Kelly, at least in the strike-throwing department. Now we just need to find out if this whole confrontation was the work of Joe or Joseph.