The Orioles held their introductory press conference for their most recent — and hopefully last — 1-1 draft pick in Oklahoma high school shortstop Jackson Holliday. On the podium were O’s general manager Mike Elias, Holliday’s agent Scott Boras and the new rich kid on the block.
If you thought during Adley Rutschman’s introductory press conference in 2019 that that was a perfect looking family, the Hollidays even were more perfect and plentiful. Jackson’s father Matt Holliday, his mother Leslee, his three siblings and his girlfriend were all at Camden Yards.
But as Elias talked about what a great prospect the Orioles have in Jackson Holliday, he tapped the brakes just a bit when he said he knew that no matter how good or great a prospect was there would be bumps along the way.
Then during the presser with Holliday, Elias and Boras, the topic of how fast Holliday moved up the draft ladder from his junior season to his senior year at Stillwater High School came up.
Elias had already told the local media after the Orioles drafted him that Holliday projected as a late-first-round pick one year ago but had motored up the ladder to be in the discussion for 1-1.
When we got the chance to talk to Holliday on a Zoom after his selection, I asked him to tell us how he made such a gigantic leap. Holliday gave a thoughtful answer about having taken stock of where he stood and where he wanted to be by the time the draft came around.
So, with the help of his big league dad, Holliday worked on a plan to go from very good to great. To Holliday’s credit, he not only worked up the plan but worked religiously at making sure he began to check all the boxes he’d need to become a real legitimate player for 1-1.
It seemed shockingly amazing that a then-17 year-old kid — an age where I was in front of the mirror popping zits — was so dedicated to a goal, and not just any goal. No, this goal was about moving up 20-25 places against kids who were also trying to get better.
My mind immediately drifted momentarily to Buck Showalter. No, not about his time in the Orioles dugout. Rather, it was something he said in talking about Derek Jeter in “The Captain,” the new ESPN documentary about the Bronx Bombers’ Hall of Fame shortstop.
Jeter’s first major league manager alluded to the fact he knew Jeter was the child of an interracial marriage. Showalter talked about how tough that could be on the family, but especially on the kid. He said a kid who had to go through some of those travails would be ready for anything tough on the way up to the majors or when times might get tough in the majors.
I found it a fascinating take by Showalter, who we know is a master at handling a game and equally masterful at knowing what makes his players tick. Of course, Showalter was probably on to something key as to what drove Jeter to be as great as he was.
But if I am looking for a reason to think Holliday could be as great he wants to be, I lean on Showalter and what he used to say about special players: “He’s got that want-to.”
At a very young age, Jackson Holliday set a goal for himself, figured out what he needed to do to reach that goal and executed his plan. And when Mike Elias tabbed him as the No. 1 pick, Jackson Holliday had actualized what he set out to do.
For me, that already marks him a very special person and player.
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