Jackson Holliday received a particularly significant number with the Baltimore Orioles following his quick ascent to the major levels.
Baseball’s top-ranked prospect made his big league debut Wednesday night at Fenway Park, starting at second base and batting ninth against the Boston Red Sox.
Boston (AP) — Jackson Holliday was assigned a particularly significant number with the Baltimore Orioles following his quick ascent to the major leagues.
Wednesday night at Fenway Park, the top-ranked prospect in baseball made his big league debut against the Boston Red Sox, starting at second base and hitting ninth. In Baltimore’s 7-5 victory, he went down swinging his first at-bat and ended up 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and an RBI groundout.
Although Holliday acknowledged that he would have preferred to have received a few hits, he thought the entire experience was amazing. “Just to be here is pretty fantastic, to go out there and win and have an RBI.”
The 20-year-old infielder is the son of Matt Holliday, the 2007 NL batting champion and seven-time All-Star. He was taken first overall in the 2022 amateur draft out of Oklahoma high school.
“Arrogant? By which I mean, somewhat. Before the game, Jackson Holliday said, “Not too bad.” “I’m not as anxious as I had anticipated. I’m more ecstatic. The mindset shifted from being anxious to being excited.
During spring training, I had a tiny taste. Though obviously, this will change as the season progresses, I thought I could hold my own.
For Baltimore, Holliday wore number 7. During seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and one with the Colorado Rockies, his father wore that number. However, since 1992, when former manager Cal Ripken Sr. was still coaching, it had not been worn by an Oriole.
The last Baltimore player to wear that number was Billy Ripken, one of his kids, back in 1988. The young Holliday received the blessing of Orioles aristocracy, the Ripken family.
Holliday, who turned 20 on Dec. 4, became the second-youngest player in the majors behind Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio, who turned 20 on March 11.
“I’m sure to be 20 years old and go through the kind of pressure, the buildup and all the stuff he had to go through today, I bet he’s probably glad it’s over and relieved and looking forward to playing tomorrow,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said.
A left-handed hitter, Holliday was drafted as a shortstop less than two years ago out of Stillwater High School and advanced through four minor league levels in 2023. He had a tremendous spring training with Baltimore this year, batting .311 with a .354 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage in 15 games.
But general manager Mike Elias wanted Holliday to get more playing time at second base and more experience against left-handed pitching. Just before the end of camp, Holliday was sent down. In 10 Triple-A games this season, he hit .333 with a .482 on-base percentage and .595 slugging percentage.
That time in Triple-A paid off, Holliday said.
“Yeah, I think getting at-bats. I got a lot of at-bats because we scored a lot of runs,” he said. “I was able to get pretty comfortable. My swing’s in a good spot, put together a lot of good at-bats versus lefties, which we knew was kind of more of the purpose of being down there. And, it doesn’t hurt to play.”
Primarily a shortstop, Holliday made 33 minor league starts at second base, including eight this season. Gunnar Henderson, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, plays shortstop for the Orioles, so Holliday will get most of his time at second.
“There’s a lot to process and there’s a lot of hype,” Hyde said before the game. “Hopefully, he can just relax, think confidently and have fun out there.”
Holliday started a 4-6-3 double play to end the second inning.
“We’re all smiles today,” said teammate Jordan Westburg, who hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the Orioles overcame a 5-0 deficit. “We’re just trying to keep him level, but he’s so mature he handled it really well.”
Baltimore selected Holliday’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room on the roster, utilityman Tony Kemp was designated for assignment.
Told of his promotion after his Triple-A game Tuesday night, Holliday phoned home with the news.
“It was a really cool moment to be able to call my dad and tell him to find his way to Boston,” he said.
Matt Holliday batted .299 with 316 home runs and 1,220 RBIs during 15 major league seasons with the Rockies, Athletics, Cardinals and Yankees from 2004-18.
Along with his father, and grandfather Tom Holliday, a longtime college coach, Jackson Holliday was expecting his wife, Chloe, his mother, brothers and sister at Fenway Park for his debut.
“It’s different. It’s a lot. I feel like I’ve been born to handle that, and to be here and play baseball for a long time,” Jackson Holliday said before the game.
The youngster hadn’t had time to go through all the texts he’d received wishing him good luck. But there was one from a Maryland native that stood out.
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