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First-time father Kelly excited for Christmas
- Updated: December 23, 2016
BOSTON — Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly couldn’t have imagined the adventure that was ahead of him in his first offseason as a father.
As his season was coming to an end, Kelly and his wife, Ashley, learned that their home in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., had endured severe flooding.
“I wouldn’t have expected a house in California to flood and have six inches of standing water in my bottom floor for a week because nobody was home,” said Kelly. “Our pool guy saw it when he came over to clean the pool and he told us we should call someone ASAP.
“The fire department came over and tried to suck up all the water and restoration came and started gutting the house basically. It’s basically a whole new home remodel.”
Without a home to return to, the Kellys stayed an extra month in Boston with their son, Knox, who was born in February.
For the last couple of months, they’ve been living back in Rancho Cucamonga in their neighbor’s pool house.
Just in time for Christmas, they should at last be back in their home.
“With a 10-month-old and trying to get stuff down with the house and the holidays coming up and family and friends coming to visit in our little pool house studio, it’s been more hectic than I’d imagine coming home for my first offseason with a baby,” said Kelly. “But we’re getting excited for the holidays.”
Anticipating the holiday season through Knox’s wide eyes has been something to behold for Joe and Ashley Kelly.
Kelly recently talked with MLB.com about the joy of fatherhood and some of his own holiday remembrances.
MLB.com: What has it been like to experience the holidays with Knox?
Kelly: It’s been amazing. Two streets down from where we live, we have probably the best Christmas lights in California. We’ve already taken the little guy down there to see them and he doesn’t know how to comprehend them yet but he likes looking at the lights and he’s excited for them.
MLB.com: Has Knox met Santa yet?
Kelly: Yes, he did. We did the whole first Santa experience at this place called Tom’s Farms in Southern …
