Holliday reflects on short stint with A's

OAKLAND -- Matt Holliday's career can be split mostly in two halves. He spent five seasons with the Rockies, making his debut in 2004 and highlighting his time in Colorado with three straight All-Star appearances. Holliday is now treading through his fifth season in St. Louis, a destination he landed in as the result of a Trade Deadline deal in 2009.

Sandwiched in between, however, is a 93-game stay with the A's, a team that acquired Holliday in a November 2008 trade only to flip Holliday to St. Louis the following July. On Friday, Holliday stepped foot in the O.co Coliseum for the first time since being dealt away by Oakland.

Asked what memories stand out about his short stint with the A's, Holliday said: "I think the people stand out. I really enjoyed getting to know the coaches and front office. … I enjoyed my time with all of them. They are great people and teammates."

Those former teammates, though, are just about all gone. The only player still with Oakland who played alongside Holliday in '09 is reliever Jerry Blevins.

Holliday, who was booed by many of the 24,208 in attendance on Friday night, hit .286 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs with the A's. He went on to hit 13 homers and drive in 55 in 63 games with the Cardinals after the trade.

"I think I learned a lot in those four months about myself," Holliday said. "It was a bit of a transitional year for me. There were times when it wasn't all that great, but there were a lot of lessons to be learned."