North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Raleigh's Home for the Hollidays
2/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
So imagine the pride of a father who has watched his son win the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, get robbed of the overall NL MVP Award and play in two All-Star Games and a World Series.
That’s been the life of NC State associate baseball coach Tom Holliday, and Friday night, he helped put those experiences on stage at the Rally Club’s First Pitch Banquet at the Crabtree Marriott by bringing his son, Colorado Rockies All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, to town as the primary speaker.
The banquet is an annual event sponsored by the Rally Club, a non-profit volunteer organization that raises money to augment the NC State baseball budget. This year’s event brought in more than $25,000, thanks to a sold-out ballroom of 346 ticket-buying guests. There were more than 400 people in the room, for the dinner to officially kick off the baseball season, including the NC State baseball staff and every current member of the Wolfpack roster.
Opening day for the Wolfpack is just over two weeks away. The season begins with a three-game series against Appalachian State Feb. 22-24 at Doak Field at
Much of the money raised Friday came from ticket sales and sponsorships, but a good portion also came from a silent auction that included tickets to three games of the 2008 World Series, tickets to the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., tickets to this year’s Final Four in San Antonio, and tickets to this summer’s MLB All-Star Game, for which Matt Holliday is almost assured a starting spot, if he performs anything like he did in 2007.
Last year was a break-out season for Holliday and the
He earned his spot with remarkable numbers. He led the National League in batting, hits, doubles, extra bases, total bases and runs batted in. He finished fourth in home runs, missing out on the Triple Crown because
Friday night, Holliday shared some of his experiences with the NC State baseball family, of which is parents, Tom and Kathy, have been a part for two years now. He also spent some time taking a little batting practice at Doak Field, with two separate sessions Friday and another on Saturday morning.
Former major league relief pitcher George Frazier, who is now the voice of the Colorado Rockies, shared the stage with Matt Holliday, prodding him for memories of the
Frazier said he knew five players who were better people than players. Dave Winfield was one. The late Kirby Puckett was another. And Matt Holliday was the last one he named, to the delight of Tom and Kathy Holliday, who sat at their table with daughter-in-law Leslee and grandsons Jackson and Ethan.
Matt Holliday was an essential part of the
“It was a great ride,” Holliday said. “For us to make it to the World Series was quite a feat.”
That was all well and good a streak for the ages and every kid’s dream come true but perhaps the greatest moment for the Holliday family came last July, in
Josh had just taken the job with the Sun Devils and caught a late flight to the Bay Area and had no idea he was going to have to throw batting practice in front of 40,000 people. But he put the ball over the plate, and Matt hit 13 shots over the fences at
“To be honest, as long as I hit one out I didn’t care how many others went out,” Matt told the First Pitch crowd. “I just didn’t want to get shut out. Luckily, I have hit off Josh a lot in my life, and I got that first one out of the way on the first pitch.”
As much as he enjoys the thin air of Coors Field in
“I really liked playing in
His most feared pitching rotation?
Holliday spent only a couple of days with his family and his parents in
Baseball is only a few weeks away, and fathers and sons everywhere are ready to roll.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
