That following offseason, Kelly, Sam Bohne and other Major League Baseball (MLB) players agreed to play professional basketball with O'Connell. National League (NL) president John Heydler insisted that anyone who played with O'Connell could be suspended. The Giants were also displeased with Kelly's arrangement, as they were concerned about the chance he could injure himself in non-baseball activity. However, Kelly had not played in any games at that point. He was removed from the roster and thus avoided suspension by MLB.