Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Merrill Kelly went from not knowing the KBO existed to having it save his career

Merrill Kelly's career might be one of the most unique in MLB history. While the D-backs are banking on their free agent signing to follow in the footsteps of pitchers like Miles Mikolas or Tony Barnette -- guys who struggled stateside and found themselves in Japan before returning -- there is one very big difference: Kelly went to Korea, a country known more for its home run hitters than its pitching prowess.

"When I was first approached, I had no idea there was even a KBO," Kelly told MLB.com over the phone. "I knew of the NPB, I knew of guys that had gone over to play in Japan for a long while, but I had never heard of the KBO and didn't know there was a professional league in Korea."
An 8th round pick out of Arizona State by the Rays in 2010, Kelly showed easy progess through the system. After four years in the system, he reached Triple-A and posted a strong 2.76 ERA in 114 innings in a swingman role. That led to the SK Wyverns asking about the Rays about his availability before being rebuffed by a large buyout fee from Tampa Bay. It also had Kelly dreaming of being added to the Rays' 40-man roster or getting selected in the Rule 5 draft. 
Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so when the SK Wyverns came calling while he was pitching in the Dominican Winter League, Kelly was ready. 
"[My agent and I] made the decision at the time that it was the best option since I wanted to be a starting pitcher and I was a swingman-type guy in Tampa. SK guaranteed me that opportunity."

Though the team did its best to help him adjust, there was a lot that Kelly had to adapt to in his new league. There was a different-sized baseball. There was a different training schedule. Different food and new teammates. KBO teams don't play on Mondays. And Kelly's girlfriend, who he started seeing when they met at Arizona State University, was on the other side of the globe.
"She was a kindergarten teacher, so the first two years I was over there it was extremely long distance," Kelly said, noting how hard it is to communicate when she would be going to bed at the time that he woke up. "Facetiming gets old pretty quick."
Fortunately, his new teammates were there to help him get acclimated.
"When a foreign guy goes over there, the Korean teammates' first impression is to like you," Kelly said. "They know you're stepping into a completely different atmosphere, so all the guys did everything they could whenever I needed help. If I had questions, or didn't know what was going on, or my translator wasn't around at the time. Pretty much anybody and everybody -- if they could step up and help -- they would."

Kelly had a difficult first year, though. He went 11-10, with a 4.13 ERA and the Wyverns struggled to a 69-74 record. But it was from those hard times through which Kelly made the adjustment to earn a big league contract with Arizona this winter. 
See, despite Kelly's performance in the Minor Leagues, he wasn't a highly-coveted prospect because his fastball sat between 88-90 mph. After going to Korea, he made some changes and he can now hit 97 -- "on a good day," Kelly said laughing.
"I wish I could put my finger on what exactly contributed to the spike in velo, but honestly, I don't have a solid answer for you," Kelly said. After realizing that he could be a power pitcher in the league, he started throwing his four-seamer more, moving away from the sinker-changeup guy he was in the Rays system. But there was plenty of self-teaching too.
"Sometimes over there, you have to be your own pitching coach," Kelly said. "Just whether or not something gets lost in translation or whether or not you are attacking the same problem, but they go about it a little bit differently. You have to navigate the waters on your own sometimes. That forced me to start to look for things I didn't before because you have to fix it."
That changed everything and Kelly's last three seasons saw him succeed in a hitting-dominated league. It all culminated with Kelly starting the Wyvern' Korean Series-clinching Game 6 this past season. Though he didn't factor in the decision, Kelly pitched five no-hit innings before giving up three runs in the sixth.

"Those games were some of the most fun things I've ever been a part of. It sounded like a college football game from the jump," Kelly said. "This little tiny stadium sounded like 100,000 people for the entire game." 
After the game, which the Wyverns won in the 13th inning, it was time to celebrate.  "We ran out on the field, celebrated, hung out with the fans a little bit. There's a video floating around -- I won't tell you how to get to it, I'll let you find it -- of me dancing in front of the fans. It's a pretty good one, we were having a good time."
Looking back, he thinks he needed to go to Korea to find this success.
"I think part of why I changed was going over to Korea and having adversity -- that first year wasn't great -- I think the fact that I did have to go to Korea and really develop myself, I don't think I would have had that same growth if I stayed here."
Now he's coming back home to Arizona, where he can have all the Chipotle he wants. (While Kelly enjoyed the food in Korea, the first thing he would always do when returning to the States was to go to the fast food restaurant.) He'll get a chance to show off that new fastball when Spring Training starts, looking to demonstrate everything he learned in Korea will pay off here.
Oh, yeah, and that long-distance girlfriend? They got married last weekend. 

BarberJordan
beephero
AP_702417634020
NYC
seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com