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It is currently 9:30pm on a Thursday evening. News of a minor league deal between the Cardinals and Mariners that sent pitcher Sam Gaviglio to Seattle in exchange for infielder Ty Kelly has broke. Twitter has exploded.
Why has social media exploded over a minor league deal, you ask? To simply try to explain to you why would be a failure of epic proportions, and a disservice to you loyal readers. No. I must show you. Follow me.
The news broke quite humbly:
#Mariners have traded INF/OF Ty Kelly to Cardinals for RH Sam Gaviglio. Both Minor Leaguers not on 40-man rosters.
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) November 21, 2014
Then became more intriguing as research began:
For Cardinals fans, here's your Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) primer. http://t.co/DtJuZlXKJG cc @vivaelbirdos
— Colin O'Keefe (@colinokeefe) November 21, 2014
— Nick (@FWBluesFan) November 21, 2014
Ty Kelly chooses not to swing http://t.co/UW2Qjo7B4J via @LookoutLanding
— Aaron Finkel (@Aaron_Finkel) November 21, 2014
Ty Kelly walks more than Greg Garcia, strikes out less, and has hit for more power, so okay. Oh, yeah. He's also not Descalso. #STLcards
— Andy Beard (@aswb83) November 21, 2014
Holy Ty Kelly walk rates that make Matt Carpenter blush
— Onomatopoeia (@thestlcardsfan4) November 21, 2014
The legend of Ty Kelly began to spread to all corners of the Internet:
LOL my whole timeline is filled up with tweets about some guy named Ty Kelly who, five minutes ago, no one had ever heard of. #HotStove
— High Sock Sunday (@HighSock_Sunday) November 21, 2014
#STLCards newest acquisition, INF Ty Kelly, has accumulated 20.2% and 15.5% walk rates in his last two MiLB seasons, both in AAA. #OBP
— viva el birdos (@vivaelbirdos) November 21, 2014
Then things started to get weird:
I didn't know it until now, but I somehow had this void in my life that only Ty Kelly would be able to fill.
— Heather Simon (@lil_scooter93) November 21, 2014
The next natural step was to discover his Twitter handle:
I hope to God this is Ty Kelly's actual Twitter profile. pic.twitter.com/h1cIGKCWL3
— High Sock Sunday (@HighSock_Sunday) November 21, 2014
That's when all Hell broke lose and the retweets started flooding in:
Where's Doug?! pic.twitter.com/e3dTcYiLLe
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) November 1, 2014
I'm just gonna start running into girls wherever I go. Movies have taught me that one of them is guaranteed to be my soulmate.
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) October 22, 2014
If Jameis Winston tries to sell his books back this year he's going to get suspended by the NCAA
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) October 15, 2014
Jack in the Box is getting pretty explicit with who they're marketing to #munchiemeal
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) October 10, 2014
New YouTube original video I am proud of! https://t.co/KJiFYJKHru
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) March 12, 2014
I'm watching Rocky for the first time. Does he learn how to block a punch at some point during these movies?
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) July 19, 2014
The 1st Mighty Ducks movie is a prime example that it's all about getting hot when the tournament comes around.
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) February 4, 2014
This makes me want to get to the World Series so bad. Maybe next year! Maybe I should get to the big leagues first. #minordetail
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) October 30, 2014
Well, this is awkward. pic.twitter.com/cBbfnjC2ZA
— Tom_sveb (@Tom_sveb) November 21, 2014
I could get in to screamo music if they didn't scream so much
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) May 2, 2012
AND THE WINNER:
My baseball heroes:Matt Carpenter, Marco Scutaro.
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) September 10, 2013
Welcome to the Cardinals, Ty!
what else is going on in baseball...
- The Miami Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton have reached a deal. - MLB; ESPN: Hardball Talk
- The Blue Jays sign Russell Martin. - Sports Illustrated
- Steven Souza made an amazing catch to save Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter, so Zimmermann bought him a Best Buy gift card. - Hardball Talk
- The Red Sox reportedly offer Jon Lester a deal. - Hardball Talk
- Dear A's, please, PLEASE let the Pat Venditte, the switch pitcher, pitch. - Hardball Talk
- The Phillies found out Yasamy Tomas is only 23 and are now less interested. (The Phillies are old.) - Hardball Talk
- The SB Nation Awards are in full swing. Vote for your favorites around the league!
Funniest Moment (features the Molina brothers and the cheese crackers)
Hit of the Year
Pitching Performance of the Year
what the cardinals are up to...
- A special exhibit honoring Stan Musial opens today at BallPark Village. - Fox2Now
- Today also happens to be The Man's birthday. Ironically, he shares this birthday, and a hometown with The Kid. - Cut4
- The United Cardinals Bloggers sent some questions to John Mozeliak, which he graciously answered. - Cards Conclave
- Cardinal70 wraps up his Exit Interviews with the Cardinals' GM. - Cards Conclave
- Adam Wainwright and his charity, Big League Impact, have started something new.
Tomorrow we launch the @bigleagueimpact Mid-Season Challenge. Play guys like @Max_Scherzer @freddiefreeman5 skipschu DWright & me! Scared?
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) November 18, 2014 - Looking fly, Jason.
Came in my care package. Sent by my man Rip all the way from Busch Stadium. Thank you Sir! #STLCards pic.twitter.com/1kB02sS7IV
— jheytwotwo (@JasonHeyward) November 19, 2014 - The family of Oscar Taveras has taken to his twitter account to thank all the people who shared their condolences.
To all @el_fenomeno_18 followers and fans, his family would like to Thank everyone for their prayers and heartfelt condolences! (Cont)
— Oscar Taveras (@el_fenomeno_18) November 21, 2014
@Cardinals gathered all of the memorial items left outside Busch Stadium, handed to a family rep that will take it back to Dom. Rep; (cont)
— Oscar Taveras (@el_fenomeno_18) November 21, 2014
Thanks to all who left a memory or token of appreciation! It means so much, very overwhelming, family says St Louis fans are amazing! (Cont)
— Oscar Taveras (@el_fenomeno_18) November 21, 2014
This twitter handle will be managed by his family until everyones item is posted with a personal thanks!
— Oscar Taveras (@el_fenomeno_18) November 21, 2014
KNOW THINE ENEMY...
the nl central
- Why the NL Central is the deepest division in baseball. - MLB
- The Pirates designate Ike Davis for assignment. - Hardball Talk
viva el stuff...
- LuckySTLFan thinks the best part of the Heyward trade might be Carlos Martinez. - Viva el Birdos
- Matt.Conner.21 looks at the Cardinals payroll flexibility in the upcoming years. - Viva el Birdos
- Episode 8 of the Viva el Birdos Podcast is ready for your ears! - Viva el Podcast
- The Cardinals finalists for the SB Nation have officially been selected. Thanks to all who voted! - Viva el Birdos
- You might have noticed the site logo change. This change is continued throughout SB Nation in a partnership with "It's On Us", a campaign dedicated to changing the way we think of sexual assault. - SB Nation
other things...
- Vladi Tarasenko scored the Blues only goal Thursday night as they drop game two of their road trip 4-1. The look to right the ship tomorrow in Ottawa at 2:00pm. - St. Louis Game Time
- The Rams look to win two in a row for the first time this season as they take on the Chargers Sunday afternoon. - Turf Show Times
- Four members of the Greatest Show on Turf are semifinalists for the Pro-Football Hall of Fame: Kurt Warner, Torry Holt, Issac Bruce, and Orlando Pace. - Turf Show Times