add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Care San Diego - Doctor Matt Hubbard Family Chiropractor -... healthyimpressions.com | Indy Runners : Holliday Park Trail Run Race Information indyrunners.org | Peter Osborne Holliday, Jr., DDS. hollidaydental.com |
Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980, in Stillwater, Oklahoma),[1] is a free agent left fielder. Holliday was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.[2] Holliday is a 3-time All-Star and 3-time Silver Slugger. He was the runner-up in the National League MVP voting for the 2007 Major League Baseball season.[3] He did, however, win the 2007 National League Championship Series MVP, as he helped guide the Rockies to their first-ever National League pennant and World Series appearance.[4]
[edit] Early careerHolliday was recruited out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma to play quarterback at Oklahoma State, but he chose to sign with the Colorado Rockies and was signed by scout Pat Daugherty.[5] As a senior, Holliday earned All-American honors in football and baseball and also earned his region's Gatorade Player of the Year award in both sports.[5] He also competed for the 1997 USA Junior National Team.[5] On December 14, 2007, Holliday had his #24 high school jersey retired in a ceremony at Stillwater High School.[6] Businesses in Stillwater were also asked to honor Holliday that day by posting a "Welcome Home Matt Holliday" message on a marquee or window.[6] [edit] Major league career[edit] Colorado Rockies[edit] 2004Holliday was originally scheduled to spend much of 2004 with Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliate Colorado Springs Sky Sox.[7] However, due to injuries to Rockies outfielders Preston Wilson and Larry Walker, he soon became a mainstay in the Rockies lineup.[7] Holliday made his major league debut on April 16, 2004, in an away game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He had three at-bats, but didn't record a hit.[2] Holliday played a total of 121 games during his rookie season and finished with a .290 batting average, 14 home runs, 31 doubles and 57 RBIs.[7] He hit his first career home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 22, 2004.[7] Holliday was named to Baseball America's All-Rookie team and Topps All-Star Rookie team for the 2004 season. He finished fifth in the voting for the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year.[7] [edit] 2005Holliday played in 125 games during the 2005 season and improved in nearly all of his offensive categories from the previous season. He hit .307 with 147 hits, 19 home runs, 87 RBIs, 68 runs, 14 stolen bases and 242 total bases.[8] He also had a better slugging percentage (.505) and on base percentage (.361). After the All-Star break, Holliday hit 14 home runs, which were the most on the Colorado Rockies during the second half of the season. He also drove in 64 runs after the All-Star break, second in the National League to Chase Utley (65). Holliday spent time on the disabled list from June 9 to July 18, due to a fractured right pinky finger.[8] In September, Holliday hit a National League-high 32 RBI, which was also a Rockies record for the month of September.[8] On September 20, he tied a Colorado Rockies record by hitting eight RBIs in one game.[8] He also hit two home runs in that game, which turned out to be a 20–1 blowout against the San Diego Padres. Holliday's eight RBIs was the second-highest single-game total in the 2005 Major League Baseball season, second only to the 10 RBI by New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez on April 26 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[8] [edit] 2006Holliday played in 155 games during the 2006 season. He hit .326 with 196 hits, 34 home runs, 114 RBIs, 119 runs, 10 stolen bases and 353 total bases.[9] His slugging percentage was .586 while his on base percentage was .387. Holliday finished in the top five of the National League in batting average, hits, runs, extra base hits, total bases and slugging percentage.[9] He finished first on the Colorado Rockies in home runs, extra base hits, runs, total bases and multi-hit games.[9] Holliday also had the luxury of being only one of 11 MLB players during the 2006 season to steal home.[9] He stole home as part of a double steal in an August 9, game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Holliday was voted in by players and coaches as a reserve in the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which was his first career All-Star selection.[9] Holliday also received his first Silver Slugger Award for his outstanding hitting during the 2006 season.[9] [edit] 2007 Holliday's 2007 season was the best of his career, thus far. He played in 158 games and had career highs in batting average (.340; leading the NL), hits (216; leading the NL), runs (120; 3rd in the NL, behind Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramirez), doubles (50; leading the NL), home runs (36), RBIs (137; leading the NL), walks (63), slugging percentage (.607; 3rd in the NL, behind Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder), OPS (1.012; 3rd in the NL, behind Chipper Jones and Fielder), extra base hits (92; leading the NL) and total bases (386; leading the NL).[10] Holliday finished in at least the top six of the National League in each of those categories except walks. He batted .376 with a .722 slugging percentage and 25 home runs at mile-high Coors Field, and hit .301 with a .485 slugging percentage and 11 home runs in away games. He became only the fifth National League player in the last 59 years to lead the NL in both batting average and RBIs.[11] He also became only the 13th major league player in the last 45 years to finish a season with at least 200 hits and 50 doubles.[12] Furthermore, there was a stretch during the season in which Holliday reached base safely in 36 consecutive games. That broke a Rockies record held by Todd Helton and Larry Walker, as each of them had a streak of 35 consecutive games.[13] Along with his impressive offensive numbers, Holliday established himself as a legitimate defender, as he had the second highest fielding percentage out of all MLB left fielders (.990). He committed only three errors, on an MLB-high 306 total chances for left fielders.[14] Holliday's accomplishments during the season led to a second All-Star appearance, as he was once again voted in by players and coaches of the National League. He received the most votes (725) from them than any other player in MLB.[15] Holliday also participated in the 2007 Home Run Derby, but didn't win.[15] He was named NL Player of the Month for September.[15] His season garnered strong MVP talk, as he, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins and Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder were considered the prime National League MVP candidates following the conclusion of the 2007 regular season. Holliday ended up coming in second in the vote, with 336 points, compared to 363 points for Rollins.[3] It was the closest voting for NL MVP since Atlanta Braves third baseman Terry Pendleton beat out Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Barry Bonds by 15 points in 1991.[16] Holliday made the playoffs for the first time in his career during the 2007 season. The Rockies entered the playoffs as a wild card team. In the first game of the National League Division Series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, Holliday hit a solo homer to left-center in the eighth inning to give the Rockies a 4–2 lead, which proved to be the final score.[17] In the second game of the series, Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Holliday hit back-to-back first-pitch homers in the first inning.[18] Holliday also singled in Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui in the sixth inning to bring the score to 10–3, on the way to a 10–5 win. The Rockies won game three in Denver, 2–1, to complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies.[19] Colorado then advanced to the National League Championship Series to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Colorado swept Arizona in four games, and Holliday was named the 2007 National League Championship Series MVP, as he hit .333 with two home runs and four RBIs during the series.[4] The NLCS sweep earned the Rockies their first-ever trip to the World Series.[20] Despite the struggles of the Colorado Rockies in the first two games of the 2007 World Series, Holliday remained strong offensively, collecting 4 hits in game two alone.[21] However, he also committed a crucial blunder that was arguably the biggest play of that game. After his fourth hit, in the eighth inning off of Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, Holliday was immediately picked off first base by Papelbon for the third out, leaving Helton at the plate with Colorado trailing 2–1.[21] The Red Sox were able to hold on by that same score for the victory. During game three, Holliday came through in the clutch in the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run home run.[22] Rather aptly, the home run came just as Fox Sports commentators Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were describing Holliday as a possible MVP candidate during the regular season. [edit] 2008On January 18, 2008, Holliday signed a two-year, $23 million contract with the Rockies, covering his final two years of arbitration.[23] On May 25, 2008, the Rockies placed Holliday on the 15-day disabled list, due to a strained left hamstring that he suffered in a 9–2 home loss against the New York Mets the previous day.[24] Colorado activated him off the disabled list on June 10, 2008.[25] On July 6, 2008, Holliday was named an All-Star reserve for the third consecutive year.[26][27] However, due to an injury to Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who was voted in by fans as a starter, Holliday replaced Soriano as one of the starters in the outfield.[28] During the All-Star Game, he played in right field and hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning, which was the first run of the game.[29] Holliday played in fewer games (139) in 2008 than in his previous two seasons (partly due to spending time on the disabled list). Consequently, his numbers also dropped off, as he finished the season batting .321 with 173 hits, 25 home runs, 88 RBIs, 107 runs, and 290 total bases. He did, however, end up winning his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award[30] and had career highs in stolen bases (28) and on-base percentage (.409). His 28 stolen bases were the third-most among all MLB left fielders.[31] His .409 on-base percentage was the second-highest for MLB left fielders.[32] Defensively, Holliday was first in zone rating (.900), fourth in fielding percentage (.991), fifth in total chances (252) and fifth in putouts (240) among all MLB left fielders. His total chances and putouts came in about 100 fewer innings than those players ahead of him.[33] [edit] 2009In 2009 he was named # 35 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, was polled to arrive at the list.[3] [edit] Oakland AthleticsOn November 12, 2008, Holliday was traded to the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Huston Street and Greg Smith, and outfielder Carlos González.[34] He began working with Mark McGwire as his hitting coach during the 2009 offseason.[35] [edit] St. Louis CardinalsOn July 24, 2009, Holliday was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for prospects Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen, and Shane Peterson.[36] Holliday's debut with the Cardinals included a four-hit game with an RBI and a stolen base, despite having to borrow a glove and shoes from teammates since his equipment had not arrived in St. Louis yet. Upon Holliday's arrival in St. Louis he was not granted his traditional number 5 jersey due to it being currently worn by All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols, so instead he wore number 15 with the Cardinals. On October 8, 2009 during a playoff game at Dodger Stadium, Matt Holliday made a costly fielding error that has been greatly publicized. During game two of the National League Division series in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cardinals needed just one out to tie up the series one game a piece. James Loney hit a routine fly ball to left field and Matt Holliday appeared to briefly lose sight of it. Holliday then dropped what would have been the final out of the game to secure the Cardinals’ victory when the ball hit his groin, allowing Loney to take second base on the play. With two outs the Dodgers staged a rally and came from behind to win the game and take a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. As a result of the fielding error, Holliday has been criticized by Cardinals fans for having a helping hand in putting the team on the brink of elimination. After the game Holliday said he lost the ball in the lights: "It's tough to swallow...Obviously, I feel terrible". Two days later, the Dodgers won the series to eliminate the Cardinals three games to none. Holliday filed for free agency on November 5th 2009. The New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees have expressed interest in signing Holliday. [edit] PersonalHolliday and his wife, Leslee, have two sons, Jackson (born December 4, 2003) and Ethan (born February 23, 2007), and a daughter, Gracyn (born November 7, 2009).[5] He is the son of former Oklahoma State University (and current North Carolina State associate head coach) Tom Holliday and the nephew of Rockies scout Dave Holliday. Holliday's brother, Josh, is currently an assistant coach for the Vanderbilt University Commodores baseball team, having previously been an assistant at Arizona State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.[37] Holliday's brother also pitched to him during the 2007 Home Run Derby at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Holliday's current at-bat music is Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried". [edit] Achievements
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: 1980 births | Living people | 2006 World Baseball Classic players of the United States | American Christians | Asheville Tourists players | Carolina Mudcats players | Colorado Rockies players | Colorado Springs Sky Sox players | Major League Baseball players from Oklahoma | Major League Baseball left fielders | National League All-Stars | National League batting champions | National League RBI champions | Oakland Athletics players | People from Stillwater, Oklahoma | St. Louis Cardinals players | Tulsa Drillers players | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
