Matt Holliday
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| Colorado Rockies — No. 45 | |
| Left Fielder | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| April 16, 2004 for the Colorado Rockies | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| AVG | .310 |
| RBI | 258 |
| HR | 67 |
Matthew Thomas Holliday was born January 15, 1980 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He is a baseball player for the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies drafted Holliday in the 7th round of the 1998 draft and he made his major league debut in 2004 as one of the top rookies in the National League. An outfielder, Holliday hit .290 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs. He would finish fifth in the voting for the 2004 Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award in the National League.
In 2005, Matt improved in all offensive categories, hitting .307 with 19 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. He had 36 walks and struck out 79 times. His slugging percentage was .505, and his on base percentage was .361. After the All-Star break, Matt drove in 64 runs, second in the National League to Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies (65). Matt had the most home runs after the break on the Rockies with 14. He also led the NL and set a club record with 33 RBIs in September. On September 20, he tied a Colorado Rockies record with eight RBIs. It was the second-highest single-game total in the Majors in 2005, second only to the 10 RBIs by the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez on April 26 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Matt Holliday is married (Leslee), and has a son named Jackson (12/4/03). He is the son of former Oklahoma State University head coach Tom Holliday and the nephew of Rockies scout Dave Holliday. Matt has a brother, Josh, who is an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. Matt was recruited out of Stillwater High School to play quarterback at OSU, but he chose to sign with the Colorado Rockies and was signed by scout Pat Daugherty. As a senior, Matt earned All-American honors in football and baseball and also earned his region's Gatorade Player of the Year award in both sports. He also competed for the 1997 USA Junior National Team.
Holliday was also named to the National League All-Star Team in 2006, and was presented with a Silver Slugger Award as one of the three top offensive performers in the outfield following a season in which he hit .326 with 34 homers and 114 RBI's.
Along with Rockies 3rd baseman Garrett Atkins, Holliday is considered to be the new face of the Rockies franchise as the Todd Helton era eventually comes to a close.
