Red Sox's Kelly says he's going to win the Cy Young Award
Joe Kelly has set a lofty goal for the 2015 season.
The Boston Red Sox hurler predicted he would win the American League Cy Young Award during a radio appearance and later to reporters Saturday.
"Yeah, I'm going to win this year," Kelly said. "That's what I told the radio guys. They didn't believe me ... I always believe in myself, yeah, 100 percent. I just feel like I'm getting better every year."
The 26-year-old has started only 48 games in his major league career, and is relatively new to the confines of Fenway Park after being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals along with Allen Craig on July 31 in the John Lackey trade. He owns a 21-16 lifetime record with a 3.41 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
"When I got traded over, I lived in a hotel for two straight months," Kelly added. "I'm used to having my wife there, my two dogs, my bed, my clothes. I brought one suitcase and that's it. I lived in the hotel for two months. If you do that, it's kind of tough, whether you are a professional athlete or have any kind of job. I'm looking forward to actually having a home and decorating it myself."
Kelly has never earned more than 10 wins in a single season, and will likely need to double that total while keeping his ERA and WHIP in check in order to beat out some of the high-profile hurlers in the AL such as Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, David Price and Chris Sale for the award.
Everyone loves an underdog, but Kelly's chances of winning the Cy Young are slim to none, as he's never pitched more than 124 innings in three seasons.