Who is Joe Kelly's wife Ashley? Everything we know about veteran Dodgers reliever's fun-loving better half
Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly is married to Ashley Nicole Kelly, who went viral in December as the Dodgers pursued Shohei Ohtani. Ashley, 35, is the daughter of Derek Parks, a former MLB catcher for the Minnesota Twins. Ashley and Joe Kelly met at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
Ashley Kelly majored in interdisciplinary studies at UCR, along with film, sociology and visual culture. She is a former D1 soccer player and a Lagree fitness instructor.
The couple got married in November 2013 and celebrated their 10th anniversary last month. Ashley Kelly shared their pictures from the occasion on Instagram with the caption,
"Feeling extra grateful today as we celebrate 10 years of marriage! Holy Moly!! I love our love."
The couple has four children: sons Knox, Blake and Kai, and daughter Crue. Blake and Kai are twins, Knox is the eldest, and the Kellys welcomed Kai earlier this year.
Ashley Kelly went viral when the Dodgers were chasing Shohei Ohtani. She started the Ohtake17 campaign, offering her husband's jersey number to Ohtani to try and help bring him to the franchise. There was also a joke about changing the name of the couple's baby from Kai to ShoKai.
While the campaign may not have been the driving force behind Ohtani's signing with the Dodgers, Ohtani was appreciative and bought her a Porsche.
Joe Kelly gives up jersey number for Shohei Ohtani
With the news of Shohei Ohtani's mammoth $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the landscape of the MLB changed. Now, with the Dodgers, Ohtani will wear Joe Kelly's jersey number 17, and Kelly will wear 99.
Shortly after the signing, Kelly spoke about the number change to reporters.
"I wasn't going to give it up to just anybody," Kelly said. "If Shohei keeps performing, he'll be a future Hall of Famer and I'll be able to have my number retired. That's the closest I'll get to the Hall of Fame."
With a new teammate, a new jersey number and a new Porsche, this will be a Christmas to remember in the Kelly household.