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MLB players react to Joe Kelly's eight-game suspension for getting revenge on the Astros

Joe Kelly was suspended eight games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday after giving many baseball fans what they’d be waiting months for — vengeance against the Houston Astros after their cheating scandal engulfed the whole sport for the winter.

It was the Dodgers who lost to those 2017 Astros in the World Series. Even though Kelly wasn’t a Dodger then, he took up the cause of revenge Tuesday night when the Dodgers played in Houston for the first time this season. Kelly threw near the head of Alex Bregman and then taunted Carlos Correa after striking him out, causing the benches to clear.

MLB was none too pleased about any of it — particularly the lack of social distancing when the two teams spilled onto the field on the same day the league had to pause another team’s season because of a coronavirus outbreak. So Kelly got eight games, which is the equivalent of 22 games in a 162-game season. That may seem excessive in those terms, but MLB was definitely trying to send a message.

That message wasn’t quite received by current and former players, many of whom took Kelly’s side in the matter — which also was NOT taking the side of the Astros. This includes everybody from current players such as Marcus Stroman and Mike Clevinger to the likes of Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven.

Here’s some of the reaction:

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