Gregory Scott Holland...resides in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife, Lacey, and sons, Nash and Hunter…graduated from McDowell High School (N.C.) and attended Western Carolina University, where he walked on to the baseball team his freshman year…had 10 saves and earned All-Southern Conference first-team honors in 2007, helping WCU win the conference title…he and wife, Lacey, organized a Toys of Summer event for kids at a local children’s hospital in 2014... participated in calendar shoots for Braden’s Hope for childhood cancer research, the Royals Charities Golf Tournament and Diamond of Dreams as well as the Gloves for Kids fundraiser.
2021
Held opponents to a .229 BA (49-214) with a 1.35 WHIP and an 8.57 SO/9 ratio, going 3-5 with 8 saves, 53 SO and a 4.85 ERA (30 ER/55.2 IP) in 57 G…on the IL twice: 4/23 (nondisclosed ailment) and 8/16-9/8 with right shoulder impingement syndrome…pitched in career game no. 500 on 4/18 vs. TOR and passed 500.0 innings pitched on 5/14 at CWS (G2)…on 7/2 vs. MIN, appeared in 200th game at Kauffman Stadium, just 5th pitcher to surpass that mark in park history…the others: Jeff Montgomery (355), Dan Quisenberry (289), Kelvin Herrera (233) and Joakim Soria (225)…his 394 career games with K.C. are 6th-most in club history: Montgomery (686), Quisenberry (573), Herrera (442), Paul Splittorff (429) and Soria (427)…finished season with 9.0 consecutive scoreless innings and a 16.0-inning homerless streak…his career ERA in September/October is now 1.41, the lowest in the Live Ball Era (min. 90.0 IP), ahead of Aroldis Chapman (1.49).
2020
Made 28 appearances in his return to the Royals, ranking fifth among Major League relievers (min. 25.0 IP) in ERA (1.91) and eighth in WHIP (0.95)...Tied for fourth among American League relievers (min. 25.0 IP) with three wins and ranked eighth with a .200 opponents’ average (20-for-100)...Selected to the Major League roster the day before Opening Day…missed the last three games of the year due to a right oblique strain...Tied for third in the Majors with 23 scoreless appearances, trailing only teammate Scott Barlow (25) and the Angels’ Mike Mayers (24)...Finished the year with a 13.1-inning scoreless streak, which spanned his final 13 appearances from Aug. 26-Sept. 21, in which he went 1-0 with five saves, a .149 opponents’ average (6-for-46), one walk and 18 strikeouts (12.2 K/9)…it was the third-longest scoreless streak by an AL reliever in 2020...Recorded five of his six saves in his final 10 appearances from Aug. 31-Sept. 21, serving as the closer after Trevor Rosenthal was traded to San Diego on Aug. 29...In 14 road outings, went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA (3 ER in 16.0 IP), .196 opponents’ average (11-for-56) and 0.88 WHIP…among qualifying AL relievers (min. 15.0 IP), ranked second in road ERA, behind only Matt Andreise (1.47), third in WHIP and sixth in opponents’ average...Did not allow a run over his nine September appearances, lowering his career regular season ERA in September/October to 1.55 (15 ER in 87.0 IP), which ranks second among active pitchers (min. 70.0 IP), trailing Aroldis Chapman’s 1.42 ERA (16 ER in 101.2 IP)...Earned his first save of the season on July 25 at Cleveland, stranding an automatic runner at third base to mark his first as a Royal since Sept. 17, 2015 at Cleveland...Collected his first win of the year with a scoreless sixth inning on July 30 at Detroit, his first win as a Royal since July 7, 2015 vs. Tampa Bay (Game 1)...Recorded his second win on Aug. 7 vs. Minnesota, stranding a pair of inherited runners in relief of Jakob Junis in the fifth and tossed a 1-2-3 sixth…pitched in all three games of the series vs. Minnesota from Aug. 7-9 for the first time since Aug. 5-7, 2011 vs. Detroit (with the Royals)...Hit two of the six batters he faced on Aug. 24 at St. Louis, after plunking just four of the 1,956 batters he’d faced in his career prior to that...Recorded a save on Sept. 9 at Cleveland to mark the first time he’s recorded a win and a save in consecutive outings since April 2 (save) and April 6 (win), 2019 with Arizona...it was the first time doing so in consecutive days since Sept. 4-5, 2017 vs. San Francisco with the Rockies.
2019
Opened the season with Arizona, pitching in 40 games for the D'backs…went 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA (18 ER in 35.2 IP), recording 17 saves in 22 chances...Posted a 1.77 ERA (4 ER in 20.1 IP) in 22 appearances at Chase Field, going 7-for-8 in save opportunities…comparatively, he had an 8.22 ERA (14 ER in 15.1 IP) in his 18 road appearances, going 10-for-14 in his save chances...Did not allow a run over his first 11 appearances (March 29-May 1), converting his first eight save opportunities…however, he allowed runs in three-straight contests (May 3-9), which included his first blown save of the year on May 8 at Tampa Bay...Through games on June 30, he ranked second in the National League in opponents' batting average (.151), tied for 10th in save percentage (85.7) and 15th in ERA (2.33), among pitchers that had worked at least 25.0 innings...Charged with 11 runs over his last 12 outings (11.42 ERA), going 0-2 with three blown saves (July 1-Aug. 5)…designated for assignment by Arizona on Aug. 7 and released on Aug. 9...Signed a minor league contract with Washington on Aug. 12…pitched in eight games at Harrisburg (AAA), allowing just one unearned run in 9.0 innings...Signed by the Royals as a minor league free agent on Jan. 28...Entered the season fourth on KC's all-time saves list (145) and ninth in appearances (309)…between 2010-19, his 206 saves ranked sixth in the Majors, trailing Craig Kimbrel (346), Kenley Jansen (301), Aroldis Chapman (273), Fernando Rodney (257) and Jonathan Papelbon (217)...He's one of three pitchers with at least three 40+ save campaigns (2013-14, 2017) since 2013, along with Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen.
2018
Combined to go 2-2 with 3 saves, a 4.66 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 56 appearances with the Cardinals and Nationals...Posted a 0.84 ERA (2 ER in 21.1 IP) in 24 games after signing as a free agent with Washington on Aug. 7...Designated for assignment by St. Louis on July 27 and released on Aug. 1...Limited left-handers to just 1 hit in their final 23 at-bats (.043).
2017
Signed a one-year free agent contract with Colorado...Named National League Comeback Player of the Year, tying for the NL lead with 41 saves (Kenly Jansen)…his save total matched José Jiménez (2002) for the most in franchise history...Selected to his third career All-Star Game, pitching a scoreless eighth inning at Marlins Park...Held opponents to a .193 batting average (40-for207), which tied for eighth among NL relievers (min. 200 batters faced)…his 91.1 save percentage (41-for-45) ranked fourth (min. 25 chances)...Named National League Reliever of the Month in both April and May, going 19-for-19 in save chances and posting a 1.37 ERA (3 ER in 19.2 IP) with six walks and 28 strikeouts...Set a Rockies’ record with 23-straight saves to begin the season…first blown save came on June 15 vs. San Francisco, when he allowed the tying run to score, but earned the win, 10-9... Recorded his 500th career strikeout on Sept. 30 vs. the Dodgers, fanning Logan Forsythe in the ninth inning.
2016
Was not a member of an MLB organization as he recovered from Tommy John surgery
2015
Went 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA (44.2 IP, 19 ER) with 49 strikeouts and converted 32 of 37 save opportunities...One of five pitchers to record at least 30 saves in each of the past three seasons, joining Craig Kimbrel, Huston Street, Glen Perkins and Aroldis Chapman...Placed on the 15-day disabled list April 17 with a right pectoral strain and was reinstated May 6 … also missed the final two weeks of the regular season and the postseason with a UCL tear … underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 2...Finished eighth in the American League in saves and 10th in games finished (40)...Was 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA (26.2 IP, 8 ER) prior to the All-Star break, while he was 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA (18.0 IP, 11 ER) in his final 20 appearances of the season...Did not allow an earned run over his first seven outings of the season (April 8-May 10) … posted a 1.76 ERA (15.1 IP, 3 ER) over his first 15 outings of the season.
2014
Greg made his second consecutive All-Star team, finishing second in the A.L. and third in the Majors with 46 saves, one year after setting a club record with 47 saves...Earned the first Mariano Rivera Award, which is given annually to the top relief pitcher in the American League...Pitched a perfect seventh inning at the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, helping the A.L. to a 5-3 win...Moved into second all-time among Royals relievers with 381 career strikeouts…now trails only Jeff Montgomery (720)...Converted 39 of his final 40 save opportunities...He's made good on 93 of his last 98 chances, the highest save percentage (94.9) in baseball over the past two seasons...Tied for seventh among A.L. relievers with 90 strikeouts…became the first Royals reliever to record three seasons of 90 or more strikeouts...Recorded his 100th career save on August 8 vs. San Francisco, setting the Giants down in order with two strikeouts...Collected his final save of the season on September 26 in Chicago, recording the final three outs in the game that sent Kansas City to the postseason for the first time since 1985...Ranked eighth among A.L. relievers with a .170 opponents' batting average…Lowered his career average to .197, lowest all-time among Royals pitchers with at least 250.0 innings...Tied a Major League record with seven saves during the 2014 postseason, matching five other pitchers...Posted a 0.82 ERA (1 ER in 11.0 IP) allowing just four hits in his 11 postseason appearances with 15 strikeouts...Left the team after the Wild Card win to witness the birth of his first son, Nash Gregory, in Asheville, N.C...Returned to the team during Game 1 of the ALDS in Anaheim and recorded the save that evening...Also tied a Major League record, collecting saves in all four games of the ALCS vs. Baltimore...He was the second pitcher to record saves in four-straight ALCS games, joining Dennis Eckersley, who did it in 1988 vs. the Red Sox...Recorded a save in Game 3 of the World Series, just the second by a Royals pitcher in a World Series game, joining Dan Quisenberry, who saved Game 4 in the 1980 Fall Classic.
2013
Greg produced one of the best seasons by a reliever in club history, being named an American League All-Star while setting the team's single-season record with 47 saves...passed Dan Quisenberry (1983) and Jeff Montgomery (1993), who both had 46 saves. Selected as the Bruce Rice Royals' Pitcher of the Year by the Kansas City Chapter of the BBWAA for the secondstraight season. Ranked third in MLB in saves, trailing Baltimore's Jim Johnson and Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel (50)...his 40 saves from May 30 to the end of the season were six more than any other pitcher. Led A.L. relievers with 103 strikeouts, which tied a franchise mark (Jim York, 1971)...his 291 career strikeouts are tied for sixth-most by a Royals reliever (Tom Gordon, 1988-95). Averaged 13.84 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, best single-season mark among A.L. pitchers with at least 60.0 innings ... topped his own Royals record of 12.22 per 9.0 innings, set in 2012. Recorded the lowest ERA (1.21) by a reliever in team history, besting Jeff Montgomery's 1.37 mark in 1989 (minimum 50.0 innings). Allowed four earned runs over his first three appearances ... posted an 0.69 ERA (5 ER in 65.0 IP) from April 9 through the end of the year. Named MLB Delivery Man of the Month for July and September and Royals Pitcher of the Month in May, June and July.
2012
Greg opened the campaign as a set-up man and ended it as the club's closer...named the 2012 Bruce Rice Royals Pitcher of the Year by the Kansas City Chapter of the BBWAA...Took over as the full-time closer on July 31 after the Jonathan Broxton trade with Cincinnati and was 16-for-18 in save opportunities, including converting his first 13 chances after taking over the role...Greg was the first Royals reliever to post at least 7 wins in a season since 2000 (Ricky Bottalico-9 and Jose Santiago-8)...Holland missed time early in 2012 due to a left rib stress reaction...was 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA over 60.2 IP (14 ER)
after returning from the D.L. on May 11...Averaged 12.22 strikeouts per 9 innings, second among A.L. pitchers with at least 60.0 IP and best all-time in club history (min. 60 IP)...also was third among league relievers with 91 K's, the sixth-highest single-season total in
franchise history...teammate Tim Collins paced the circuit with 93.
2011
Greg opened the year with Omaha before being recalled on May 19 and becoming the Royals most-reliable reliever ... his 1.80 ERA was the eighth-best total in Royals history among pitchers with at least 50.0 innings and the lowest among all Royals rookies with at least 50.0 innings. ... Struck out 11.10 per 9.0 innings, the eighth-best mark in baseball among pitchers with at least 60.0 innings. ... Led all of baseball allowing just 2 of 33 inherited runners to score (6.1%)...also ranked as the best percentage among Royals pitchers in history (min. 30 inherited runners), besting Billy Brewer who recorded a 10.3% in 1993. ... Was 4-0 with a 0.31 ERA in 22 home appearances, allowing just 1 earned run on 10 hits in 28.2 innings ... the home ERA was the best in the Majors (min. 20 games) and best among Royals pitchers all-time with at least 20 appearances at home.
2010
Greg made his Major League debut in Oakland on August 2 after having his contract selected from Omaha (AAA) on July 29...Struck out 23 in 18.2 innings, a rate of 11.09 per nine innings, the seventh-highest ratio in the league among pitchers with at least 15 appearances...Struck out 3 or more in five outings, including tying a season high for a Royals reliever with 4 on August 23 at Detroit...Made 14 relief appearances for Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League...posted a 2.37 ERA and struck out 35 while walking 9 in 19.0 innings.
