Matt Holliday is a model of consistency..

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday is a model of consistency. Since his arrival in 2009 in a midseason trade from the Oakland Athletics, Holliday has been a steady presence in the lineup and a leader.

In fact, it is difficult for St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, to take Holliday out because of his dedication and passion for the game he loves.

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Matt Holliday is a physical specimen, standing 6’4″ and weighing 250 lbs, the size of a NFL tight end or quarterback, a position heonce played in high school. In fact Holliday had many colleges interested in recruiting him, since he was a multi-talented star at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, OK.

It was baseball though, that Holliday chose to stick with after high school and it certainly helped that he had a coach whose brain he could pick to get advice from occassionally and just so happened to share his address.

That coach was his father, Tom Holliday who was an Assistant coach at Oklahoma State from 1978-1996 followed by being the school’s Head coach from  1997-2003.

It was through his dad that he learned the fundamentals of the game, trained, practiced and watched stars such as Robin Ventura with a close eye.

Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round as a third baseman in 1998, Holliday had to grind and fight for years before his debut in 2004.

Fast forward to 2015 and Holliday is still going strong as he is one of only 3 players (Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz are the others) to hit at least 20 hr’s the last 9 seasons which displays consistency and a track record that favors him comparably to some hall of famers.

From the moment he arrived in St. Louis, Matt Holliday has been a great leader, community oriented, and a devoted family man who sees life outside of just baseball. Yes, he is a polarizing figure and highly scrutinized at times but he has produced and more than earned his money.

With lifetime averages of .308 with 271 HR and 1061 RBI along with 1,847 hits, its safe to say Matt Holliday has had a stellar career and in his current physical state, he can go a few more years. Thanks for reading!