St. Louis’ Favorite Holliday

Matt Holliday has been absolutely fantastic of late, and last night was no exception.  His stat line was 3-4 with 3 runs, 2 homers, and 5 RBI.  What doesn’t show up in the box score is his incredible sliding catch to rob Eric Young, Jr. of what probably would have been extra bases had the ball squirted past.  Also, it was in a key out in the 5th inning, because the St. Louis Cardinals only led by 2, with one on and just 1 out.

In his last 6 games, Holliday has 5 home runs.  His season total now sits at a very respectable 21.  Since the beginning of July, his batting average has increased 18 points, and he’s collected 27 RBI, while scoring 19 times.  In this, his fourth year with the Redbirds, Matt Holliday is showing that his career .316 average is no fluke.  He only has 2 seasons in which he has hit under .300, never dipping more than 14 points below that mark in a season.  What’s also worth noting is the fact that he has matched or exceeded last year’s totals in nearly every statistical category while playing in 23 fewer games thus far.

Astonishing Measurables Against Colorado:  Matt Holliday has faced the Rockies 6 times this season to date.  Prepare yourself for the eye-popping numbers:

13-24, 9 Runs, 2 Doubles, 5 HRs, 16 RBI, .542 BA, .556 OBP, 1.250 Slugging Percentage, and an out-of-this-world OPS of 1.806.

In 2 games at Coors Field, Holliday has 3 dingers and 9 RBI.  It certainly shows that he hasn’t lost a bit of his comfort at the plate there.  Many baseball pundits spent plenty of time breaking down Matty Ice’s Colorado Rockies career, saying that his stats were inflated as a result of the thin, humid Colorado air.

All he has done since coming to St. Louis is collect 526 Hits, 123 Doubles, hit 84 of his 223 career HRs, and hit .321.  His OBP in a St. Louis Cardinal uniform is a very respectable .401, while his SLG (.555) and OPS (.956) are pretty good too.

St. Louis’ $120 million man has been everything he was advertised to be and then some.  His 75 RBI and 21 homers have propelled him into the MVP conversation, and it’s good to know that he’s locked up until 2017.

July 24, 2009 proved to be a good day for the St. Louis Cardinals, as Holliday has certainly not disappointed.  The Oaklans Athletics, the team from which Matt was traded, received Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson, and Clayton Mortensen.  In 528 career MLB ABs, Wallace has just 11 HR and 49 RBI, while hitting .256.  Peterson has yet to crack The Show.  Last but certainly not least, Mortensen has bounced from Oakland, to Colorado, and now is a reliever for the Boston Red Sox.  Without a doubt, the St. Louis Cardinals got the better of this trade.

If Matt Holliday and the 35 year old Carlos Beltran can power the St. Louis Cardinals offense for years to come, there’s no telling what they’re capable of.  It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility to think that another World Series victory is within reach.  Let’s just hope this hot streak can rub off on all the Redbirds, so that when one bat seems to be struggling, another can pick up.