Holliday family legend grows
Submitted photo
Matt Holliday (left) poses with his son Jackson who was the first overall pick of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
Submitted photo
Matt Holliday (middle) has been chosen for induction into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Submitted photo
Matt Holliday played eight years with the St. Louis Cardinals. In that span, he was a four-time All-Star and helped the Cards win the 2011 World Series.
You could make a strong case that the Holliday family is the first family of Fayette County baseball, and more ammunition was added to that argument recently.
Former All-Star Major League outfielder Matt Holliday was informed in May that he will be part of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Holliday is the son of former Uniontown High School athletic standout Tom Holliday.
The Cardinal Hall of Fame Class of 2022 includes Holliday along with former second baseman Juli谩n Javier and Charles Comiskey, an organizational pick, the first time St. Louis decided to pick a player with a tie to the team鈥檚 baseball history since 2016.
Before the Cardinals became the Cardinals, they were the St. Louis Browns from 1882-1898 and Comiskey was a player-manager for the team.
Holliday and the other two inductees bring the all-time total of Hall of Fame members in the Cardinals Hall of Fame to 50.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be part of that fraternity of former St. Louis Cardinal greats,鈥� Holliday stated. 鈥淥bviously, a great organization, a great history. I loved my time there, eight years of playing baseball in St. Louis. I loved the city and loved the baseball. It was a great fit for me and I鈥檓 glad I got to spend such a big chunk of my career there.鈥�
There are two different main categories that players fall into and must meet certain criteria that has become the standard since being implemented back in 2014.
The 鈥淩ed Ribbon鈥� committee selects an inductee from the 鈥渧eteran players鈥� category and gives fans the opportunity to vote on the 鈥渕odern players鈥� inductee.
Anyone who is considered for the Cardinals Hall of Fame must have played at least three years in St. Louis and must be retired for at least three years. Veteran players must be retired for at least 40 years.
Holliday was this year鈥檚 winner in the 鈥渕odern players鈥� fan vote, and deservedly so.
鈥淚 think anytime you are appreciated by the fan base, I obviously took a lot of pride in playing the game hard and playing the Cardinal way,鈥� Holliday said. 鈥淧laying to win and being part of winning teams, and doing everything I could to help the franchise win. We had a lot of success. So it was an honor to be voted in by the fans.鈥�
After six years with the Colorado Rockies, Holliday had the longest stint of his career in St. Louis.
Over eight years with the Cardinals, Holliday hit .293/.380/.494 with 1,048 hits, 156 home runs, 616 RBI an .874 OPS and a 138 OPS+.
He was a four-time All-Star as a Cardinal and was on two NL pennant-winning teams, including the 2011 World Series Champions squad.
He talked about playing the Cardinal way, the mantra of the franchise.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a way of doing your business,鈥� Holliday explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of playing the game, executing the game, playing to win, playing for your teammates, supporting your teammates, and I think it鈥檚 just a very selfless encouragement of how we wanted to play and how the organization wants to operate. It鈥檚 a lot of great minds and great people that establish an expectation of how you are supposed to go about your business when you鈥檙e a St. Louis Cardinal and you put that jersey on. You take a lot of pride when you put that jersey on both on and off the field. How you handle yourself in the community, how you handle yourself on the baseball field and playing to win.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that when I got traded over there I had guys like Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols as examples to watch and say okay this Cardinal way is legit. It鈥檚 a very successful way to play the game.鈥�
Holliday had a great deal of success with the Cardinals and reflected on some of the big moments in his career.
鈥淲inning the World Series in 2011 and getting a chance to end the season on that mountaintop and having that championship,鈥� Holliday offered. 鈥淏ut I think a lot of my moments were with teammates, with friends. These guys grew to be like brothers to me. My first game in St. Louis when I got traded over on a road trip and I got to comeback to St. Louis and the experience of being a Cardinal and the stadium and the ovation and I hit a double, those are small moments. One of my last at bats in Busch Stadium and I hit a home run when I was coming off of injury and had a bad thumb and wasn鈥檛 going to be able to finish, but I got an at bat and ended up hitting a home run, that was a cool moment for me. There was a lot of great moments. I think some of my favorite moments were with my teammates and those are the things I miss the most about not playing anymore.鈥�
Holliday, Javier and Comisky will be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame on Aug. 27.
The next generation of Holliday鈥檚 is ready to make their mark. Jackson Holliday, one of Matt Holliday鈥檚 sons, was selected with the first overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the recent Major League Baseball draft, and his dad is a very proud man.
鈥淚t was an incredible day and it鈥檚 been a joy to raise him,鈥� Holliday stated. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an incredible kid. I鈥檝e loved having him and we鈥檝e become so close. It was truly a really special blessing that he got a chance to be drafted in the first round, but to be the first pick was pretty incredible. We had a great moment and he鈥檚 off to Sarasota and got to play in his first game and got his first hit. I鈥檓 really proud of him and I know there鈥檚 tons of work ahead, but he鈥檚 a joy to watch. To be his dad and to help coach him, I鈥檓 just really proud of him.鈥�
Holliday served notice that another son is on the way to a big league career.
鈥淓than, my 15-year old, is very talented,鈥� Holliday said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 bigger, he鈥檚 about 6-foot-4 and about 195 pounds. He鈥檚 a big kid and he鈥檚 got a lot of ability.鈥�
Baseball truly is the family business for the Holliday鈥檚 and the next generation is ready to add to the family tradition.
鈥淚 love that their passion is baseball,鈥� Holliday explained. 鈥淚 love that we share that passion. Obviously our family is heavily invested in the game of baseball and that鈥檚 all that we really love and know. It鈥檚 fun when you share the same passion with your kids and they practice it and I really enjoyed that aspect of being a dad.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.