PHILADELPHIA \u2013 Carson Kelly snapped Matthew Boyd\u2019s streak. The way Boyd tells it, he and his housemates at Oregon State University had converted their last 15 or so undecided baseball recruits into commits. Kelly chose Oregon. \u201cWe were pretty good at sealing the deal,\u201d Boyd lamented. \u201cIt didn\u2019t work with Carson, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
The point was somewhat moot \u2013 although that doesn\u2019t stop Boyd from giving Kelly a hard time about it. The Cardinals selected Kelly in the second round of the 2012 draft. He went pro instead of attending either of the then-Pac-12 rivals. But the pitcher and catcher\u2019s connection can be traced back to that college visit. In the Cubs\u2019 series opener against the Phillies on Monday, Kelly caught Boyd\u2019s six innings as the left-hander limited Philadelphia to two runs.<\/p>\n
The traits Kelly still appreciates in Boyd were evident even in their initial meeting. Boyd showed Kelly around OSU, exhibiting a genuine interest in him \u2013 where he went to high school, if he had siblings. \u201cReally, he took the time,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I love about him and his personality, is he gives you the time of day. It\u2019s not just small talk. He actually pays attention to who you are as a person and wants to get to know you. And he had that in college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides the house\u2019s strong track record, it was natural that Boyd and company would host Kelly because he\u2019d gone to Westview High school in the Portland area with one of the housemates, Zack Reser. The house next door was also full of baseball players, Boyd said, including now-Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto, so it was a group effort. \u201cObviously he was a super talented recruit,\u201d Boyd said of Kelly. \u201cSo it was a big deal that he was there.\u201d Kelly said choosing between Oregon State and Oregon was \u201creally hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
After being drafted, however, Kelly took online classes to get his degree in economics from Oregon State. \u201cHe finally came back around the end,\u201d Boyd said. It took Kelly about five years to complete his degree, he said, adjusting his credits each quarter based on whether or not it was baseball season. He remembers doing coursework on buses in the minors. Later, former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny helped edit Kelly\u2019s papers. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of it,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThe reality is, we\u2019re going to be ex-players a lot longer than we are current players \u2013which is the cliche term to say, but there\u2019s a lot there. There\u2019s a lot of life to live. So what do I want to do next? You can\u2019t play the game forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly going pro right out of high school lined up his and Boyd\u2019s careers. The left-hander played one more year of college ball and then was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013. He debuted two years later. Kelly was on Boyd\u2019s heels, cracking into the big-leagues in 2016. \u201cA lot of the Northwest guys, we keep an eye out for who\u2019s doing well and who\u2019s coming up the pipeline and all this stuff,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s a closer knit group, that Oregon-Washington area.\u201d So, Kelly and Boyd, who grew up in the Seattle area, kept in touch and kept tabs on each other as they built their major-league careers.<\/p>\n
In August of 2023, the Tigers signed Kelly, who\u2019d been released by the Diamondbacks, reuniting him with Boyd, who was sidelined for the Tigers after season-ending Tommy John surgery. They\u2019d finally become teammates \u2013 even if they wouldn\u2019t get to play together until this year with the Cubs. \u201cEspecially in a position where communication is crucial, like the pitcher-catcher relationship, it definitely helps that we know each other,\u201d Boyd said. Now they\u2019re putting those discussions into action.<\/p>\n
Q: Where did Carson Kelly choose to attend college?
\nA: Kelly chose the University of Oregon over Oregon State University.
\nQ: What degree did Carson Kelly eventually obtain from Oregon State University?
\nA: Kelly obtained a degree in economics from Oregon State University through online classes.
\nQ: When did Matthew Boyd and Carson Kelly finally become teammates?
\nA: Boyd and Kelly became teammates in August 2023 when the Tigers signed Kelly, but they played together for the first time in 2024 with the Cubs.
\nQ: What is unique about the relationship between Northwest baseball players according to Carson Kelly?
\nA: According to Kelly, Northwest baseball players keep an eye on each other\u2019s progress and form a closer-knit group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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