Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly brings a major league pitcher's experience and an entertainer's candor to writing about the condition of baseball. A Damn Near Perfect Game examines rules, analytics, sign stealing, promotion, clubhouse culture, and the distance that can grow between professional teams and their supporters. Kelly argues for a sport with more personality and clearer priorities, drawing examples from a career that included World Series victories with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers and an earlier pennant with the St. Louis Cardinals. Journalist Rob Bradford collaborated on the book, shaping its mix of memoir, criticism, and proposals for change. Diversion Books published A Damn Near Perfect Game: Reclaiming America's Pastime in 2023. The expanded title captures Kelly's approach: affectionate criticism from a player who believes reform should preserve what makes the game joyful. Kelly avoids a season-by-season autobiography, moving among the field, bullpen, front office, broadcast booth, and commissioner's office to ask how baseball can better serve players and fans.