Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly plans on winning the American League Cy Young award this season. He made the prediction on a radio show Saturday morning and stuck to his guns when asked about it later in the day.
“Yeah, I’m going to win this year. That’s what I told the radio guys,” Kelly said, according to NESN. “They didn’t believe me, so sucks to be them.”
Kelly, however, doesn't necessarily have the bite to back his bark. At 26, he has just 48 regular-season major league starts and was limited to only 17 starts last season after missing nearly three months with a left hamstring strain. Still, Kelly isn't lacking confidence.
“I just feel like I’m getting better every year. I’m learning new stuff. I feel comfortable with where I am right now,” Kelly said. “You could ask every pitcher, (the Cy Young’s) going to be their goal. But my real goal is to be focused on every single pitch, 100 percent. The results, you’re obviously not going to control them. So I’m going to put all my mental focus and whatever I can into every single day I’m out there working, working out, running, doing (pitchers’ fielding drills) in spring training.”
Kelly made his major league debut in June 2012 when he replaced the injured Jaime Garcia in the Cardinals' starting rotation. Though he proved efficient with St. Louis, Kelly was traded to Boston in July 2014. He finished last season with a 6-4 record and 4.20 ERA.
“I’ve been — knock on wood — healthy my whole life. I skateboarded. Any extreme sport you can think of, I never got hurt,” Kelly said. “Last year getting hurt, it was horrible for me. I’ve got to get out there, I’ve got to play, I’ve got to run around. Getting hurt, I was gone for three months and then traded. I felt like I didn’t even have a season last year. “It’s something that I’m looking forward to this year. Hopefully — knock on wood — I’ll pitch the whole year healthy and get through it and be pitching in October and not having any arm problems or any leg problems. Just go out there and kick some butt.”