Jackson Holiday officially made his major league debut.
Holiday attended Wednesday's game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The 20-year-old, one of baseball's top prospects, was called up to the club from the Triple-A affiliate on Tuesday.
Holiday started at second base for the Orioles and hit a perfect double play in the second inning.
He took his first turn at bat in the third inning, and got a strikeout in his first at-bat in the major leagues. In the fifth inning, Holiday reached base on a fielder's choice. He scored his first RBI on a ground out in the sixth inning, making Boston up 5-3.
Holiday, the son of longtime MLB outfielder Matt Holliday, learned Tuesday that he was being called up by the Orioles. His manager sat him down and told him to call his father when he broke the news. That was a great moment.
The Orioles then announced Wednesday that Holiday would wear No. 7, the number Cal Ripken Sr. wore when he was the team's manager.
our family is excited about it @J_Holliday7 He will be wearing his dad's number 7…I can't wait to watch him play!
— Cal Ripken Jr. (@CalRipkenJr) April 10, 2024
Veteran infielder Tony Kemp, who was designated as part of the move, supported Holiday on social media.
In the fall of 2010, our university played a three-game series against the Longhorns. The hitting coach at the time was Josh Holliday, and his brother Matt brought the kids to our early practices.I remember watching his son. @J_Holliday7 With a sweet left swing. Go get them!
— Tony Kemp (@tonykemp) April 10, 2024
The Orioles selected Holiday with the first overall pick in 2022 out of Stillwater, Oklahoma high school. He joined the Orioles for spring training this year after spending last season with the minor league club. He returned to the Norfolk Tides to start the season despite the “very, very close” situation.
“He's way ahead of schedule,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said before the season started. “He's done very well. We couldn't be more excited about his future. But you're talking about one of the better, if not the best, players in the league. It’s about the development of players who have the opportunity to become.”
Before being called up, Holiday was batting .333/.482/.585 with nine RBIs and two home runs in 10 games with the Tides. He was drafted as a shortstop, but played second base for the Tides.
The Orioles defeated the Red Sox 7-1 on Tuesday and enter Wednesday's game with a 6-4 record. They will finish their three-game series on Thursday and return home for a six-game homestand starting Friday.
This post will be updated with more information.
