BOSTON — After Jackson Holiday quickly rose to the majors, he was given a particularly meaningful number with the Baltimore Orioles.
Baseball's top-ranked prospect made his major league debut Wednesday night as the starting second baseman and No. 9 batter against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He struck out for the first time and went 0-for-4 in the sixth inning, ending with a groundout. The Orioles won 7-5.
The 20-year-old infielder, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 amateur draft out of Oklahoma High School, is the son of seven-time All-Star and 2007 National League batting champion Matt Holliday. It is.
“Are you nervous? A little bit, I mean. It's not that bad,” Jackson Holiday said before the game. “I'm not as nervous as I thought. In fact, I'm excited. My mood has changed from nervous to excited. But yeah, I'm really excited.”
“I got a little taste of it during spring training. Obviously it's going to be different than it is now during the season, but I felt like I was able to hold my own and I'm really looking forward to tonight.”
Holiday will wear No. 7 for Baltimore. His father wore that number for seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and one season with the Colorado Rockies. However, it had not been worn by a member of the Orioles since 1992, when former manager Cal Ripken Sr. was still coaching.
One of his sons, Billy Ripken, was the first Baltimore player to wear that number in 1988. Orioles royalty, the Ripken family, gave their blessing to young Holiday.
Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. posted on social platform I'm doing it!'' he said.
Holiday, who turned 20 on Dec. 4, is the second-youngest player in the majors, behind Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Ciorio, who turned 20 on March 11.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said, “Any time a player makes his major league debut, it's exciting.” “It's exciting for everyone. It's going to be fun to watch. I'm excited for the kids, I'm excited for the families. It's a really special day. It's an overwhelming day for Jackson. I just hope he's as relaxed as possible. “
Holiday, a left-handed hitter, was drafted as a shortstop out of Stillwater High School less than two years ago and worked his way through the fourth level of the minor leagues in 2023. He had a great spring training in Baltimore this year, hitting .311 and .354. He had an on-base percentage and a .600 slugging percentage in 15 games.
However, general manager Mike Elias wanted to give Holiday more playing time as a second baseman and gain more experience against left-handed pitchers. Holiday was ejected just before the end of camp. He played in 10 Triple-A games this season, hitting .333 with a .482 on-base percentage and a .595 slugging percentage.
Holiday said that time in Triple-A paid off.
“Well, I think it's about being at bat. I scored a lot of runs, so I was able to get a lot of at-bats,” he said. “I felt pretty comfortable. My swing was in a good spot and I was able to get a lot of good at-bats against left-handed hitters. That's kind of what the purpose of being there is. I knew it wasn't a pain to play with. ”
Primarily a shortstop, Holiday started 33 games as a second baseman in the minor leagues, eight of them this season. Current AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson plays shortstop for the Orioles, so Holiday will likely spend most of his time at second base.
He started a 4-6-3 double play to end the second inning Wednesday.
“There's a lot to process and a lot of hype,” Hyde said. “Hopefully he can just relax, think confidently and have fun outside.”
That was the plan for the holiday.
“Just to calm myself down. After the first pitch or first grounder or whatever it is, I think I'll be fine,” he said. “I’m going to hit the fastball back where it came from and go from there.
“It's different. It's a lot. I feel like I was born to handle it and be here and play baseball for a long time.”
Baltimore chose to sign Holiday from Triple-A Norfolk. Utility man Tony Kemp was designated for assignment to make room for Holiday on the roster.
Holiday was informed of his promotion after a Triple-A game Tuesday night and called home to share the news.
“It was a really great moment to be able to call my dad and tell him to find his way to Boston,” he said.
Matt Holliday batted .299 with 316 home runs and 1,220 RBIs in 15 major league seasons with the Rockies, Athletics, Cardinals and Yankees from 2004 to 2018.
Jackson Holliday was waiting with his father for his grandfather, Tom Holliday, a longtime college coach. his wife, Chloe; His mother; his brother and sister attended his debut game at Fenway Park.
The young man didn't have time to look through all the messages he received wishing him luck. But one Maryland native stood out.
“My dad showed me a text message from him. [Olympic swimmer] Michael Phelps,” Jackson Holiday said, “so that was kind of cool.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
