LeBron James Congratulates Dodgers on World Series Berth with Joe Kelly Meme
October 19, 2020
Fresh off leading the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA championship, LeBron James congratulated the Los Angeles Dodgers on reaching the World Series on Sunday night.
James posted the following on his Instagram story in response to the Dodgers beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series:
The photo of Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly went viral early in the 2020 season after he had a run-in with Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.
Correa didn't take kindly to Kelly seemingly attempting to hit him and his teammates, and Kelly responded with the universal "boo-boo face."
Kelly became a cult hero not only to Dodgers fans, but fans across Major League Baseball who felt the Astros deserved some comeuppance after illegally stealing signs during their World Series-winning season of 2017.
While Kelly hasn't been used much during the Dodgers' playoff run with just 1.2 innings pitched, his reaction to Correa remains something of a rallying cry and will forever be linked to the Dodgers' 2020 season, especially if they win their first World Series since 1988.
A Dodgers vs. Astros World Series rematch from 2017 very nearly came to fruition, but the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Astros in seven games to win the American League Championship Series.
The Dodgers overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Braves in the NLCS and punched their ticket to the World Series on Sunday when outfielder Cody Bellinger hit a solo home run in the seventh inning of Game 7 to break a 3-3 tie.
L.A. has been a perennial playoff team in recent years and reached the World Series in both 2017 and 2018, but it hasn't been able to seal the deal.
James and the Lakers won an NBA championship after entering the season as the favorites, and now the Dodgers will look to follow suit.