The calendar year is 2017, but it feels ten years earlier to Matt Holliday.
Not only did the veteran outfielder win the National League batting title (.340 batting average) a decade ago in 2007, but his Colorado Rockies made an improbable pennant run that fall, orchestrated by a blend of youth and experience.
And now, at age 37, Holliday sees that Rockies’ squad in the makeup of his new team, the 2017 Yankees.
“That was sort of a team that sort of reminds me of the team we have,” Holliday told New York Post columnist Steve Serby in a Q&A session. “A lot of young guys and some veterans, and just came together really well. We ended up having that crazy streak at the end of the season, and to win 21 out of 22 major league baseball games, it was extremely hard to do. So that really sticks out, just the way we came on at the end and were able to get into that wild-card game and then ultimately win that wild-card game and make a run all the way to the World Series.
“Those were great times, a lot of those guys you come up to the minor leagues with, you were drafted with, and to make it to the World Series with those guys and then with a guy like Todd Helton who had kind of rode the lows of losing and to be on the team that helped get him to the World Series was quite an experience. But personally, I felt really good and was able to roll my swing day to day. It was a really good season.
“I think there’s a lot of young guys that you don’t really know much about. At the time with the Rockies, nobody really knew much about some of us, and really we were just all kind of coming into our own and kind of coming into the prime of our careers. I see a lot of young players that people really don’t know how good they can be, so I’m hoping that there’s a big step forward for some of these guys.”
Holliday, who hit .246 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI in 110 games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016, signed a one-year, $13 million deal with New York in early December. He expects his power to translate as a designated hitter, a role that hasn’t been made available to him since 2009 as a member of the Oakland Athletics.
It may be a new league, new city, and new job, but Holliday expects another season of at least 20 jacks.
“I’ve done it 10 out of the last 11 years, and the one time I didn’t, I was hurt [quad, 2015]. So I think that’s fair,” Holliday told Serby. “My personal goals are to help this team win, to do everything I can, and to prepare and go out and play hard and play the game the right way, be a good example for the young players and have a great season.”
A few of the young players Holliday will be mentoring are outfielder Aaron Judge and catcher Gary Sanchez, who made their major league debuts last season. While both players finished on opposite sides of the spectrum, Holliday is not only drawn to Judge’s character, but also his stature.
“[Judge] seems like a good human being, first and foremost,” he said. “He’s a lot of fun to be around. Good teammate, you can notice how guys interact with him. He’s easy to talk to, guys are drawn to him, he seems like a great person. And then obviously his tools — he’s a gigantic man, and extremely strong and powerful and has all the tools that you could ever want in a baseball player.”
Holliday also sees similar traits in Sanchez, who burst on the scene with 20 home runs in 53 games.
“I’ve noticed that he’s a very hard worker,” he said. “He’s very serious about what he’s doing. He takes a lot of pride, I think, in both his offense and his defense. He looks like a very dedicated and hard-working guy that’s interested in being great.”
Holliday’s time playing at Yankee Stadium has yet to begin, but the aura surrounding spring camp in Tampa, Fl. has him sold on what the franchise is hoping to assemble this year and beyond.
“I would say that there’s an expectation for greatness. I think the expectation [is] to win, to go out and do things the right way. I think there’s the expectation to take your job very serious and representing the New York Yankees organization, you should have pride in that and not take it for granted.”
If you want to connect with Tom Hanslin, email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @tomhanslin.
