ST. LOUIS – Jackson Holliday estimated Tuesday that he was about 12 years old the last time he took batting practice on the field at Busch Stadium, and admitted that he’d never hit a ball over the fence here, which is standard for a child of that age but at least a mild surprise given his status, even that young, as a baseball prodigy.
“Maybe from center field,” he laughed. “I’ll try my best in BP, start there, hopefully get a few knocks this week.”
Hitting leadoff for Baltimore in Tuesday night’s series opener will be the first time Holliday has taken the field here, the ballpark where he more or less grew up. He was just 5 years old when his father, Cardinals Hall of Famer Matt Holliday, was traded to St. Louis, and along with his brother Ethan, he was a frequent presence in the Cardinals clubhouse.
The ties run so deep, in fact, that St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol was a guest at his 2024 wedding to his wife, Chloé, who traveled to Jackson’s adopted hometown and got the full tour of childhood landmarks on Monday’s off day.
“It’s been cool,” Holliday said. “Drove around a little yesterday to go see the house I grew up in, to play out here, just to be able to drive around and remember everything, and drive to the field and go in through a different entrance than I came in as a kid. It was really fun to go out there and look around.”
This ballpark also held one of Holliday’s earliest near-miss baseball heartbreaks, followed by one of his earliest jubilant celebrations. He was in the Cardinals’ hospitality area for families as Game 6 of the 2011 World Series wound down, “thinking that we’re about to lose the World Series,” as he described it.
The Cardinals then staged an historic comeback, fronted by David Freese, and won Game 7, with his dad injured and replaced on the roster. “Kind of a rollercoaster of emotions as a kid,” Holliday said.
He was penciled into Tuesday’s lineup in his familiar leadoff spot, playing second base. The emotions of the homecoming – to a home where he was a part of the team without being on the roster – were preparing to hit him even as he warmed up.
“It’s a dream come true, getting to grow up in a baseball family,” he said. “Probably shagged [fly balls] here for seven straight years out here. So to be able to play here is really special.”