BALTIMORE -- Two weeks ago, when the Orioles played a series against the Nationals in Washington, Matt Holliday stopped by Nationals Park. It’s become common for the former MLB outfielder to periodically visit with the O’s since his son, Jackson Holliday, debuted for the team last year.
On April 23, Matt was on the field during batting practice, chatting with various people, including Jackson. However, this father-son conversation wasn’t a coaching moment. Often, the two discuss family, sports and more.
“He came out to watch BP and just talking a little bit, just talking baseball,” Jackson said.
That’s not to say 45-year-old Matt doesn’t still lend advice to his 21-year-old son. Those conversations can occur over calls or texts.
“Occasionally, when something doesn’t feel right, he’ll say, ‘Hey, something doesn’t feel right,’ or, ‘I don’t feel like I can do this or that' or, ‘Something’s off,’” Matt Holliday said. “Just wants to talk about maybe hitting or see if I see anything that might be helpful.”
Jackson has a strong support system with a trio of hitting coaches on Baltimore’s staff -- Cody Asche, Tommy Joseph and Sherman Johnson -- and also a father who watches games and can help notice things on video, ready to offer advice if his son solicits it, which happened amid a 3-for-31 slump extending through the opener in Washington on April 22.
“I did mention to him, ‘Hey, it looks to me like you’re a little bit around the ball,’” Matt said.
Then, he sent a clip from the Orioles’ final regular-season series at Minnesota last September.
“This is when you were really, really good last year,” Matt told Jackson.
That series against the Twins is when Holliday ditched the leg kick in his swing, incorporated a toe tap -- with Asche playing a large role in the process -- and closed out his rookie season by going 4-for-6 over the final two games. But Matt wasn’t talking about leg mechanics with his recent comment.
Matt showed Jackson the difference in posture and hands/bat placement.
Early this season, the youngster stood more crouched and held his hands in a way that the bat laid horizontally behind his head in his stance. The fatherly advice for Holliday was to stand more upright and to keep his hands more vertical, similar to how he did in Minnesota in ‘24.
“For me, it was just feeling free to move was kind of the main thing. I felt a little stuck,” said Holliday, the former top prospect in baseball. “That was the biggest adjustment, was just getting into a position that allows me to feel free whenever I’m moving in the box. Free and confident.”
Holliday implemented the suggestions and immediately went 2-for-3 on April 23. Starting with that day, the 2022 No. 1 overall Draft pick is hitting .407 (11-for-27) over his past 10 games, recording at least one knock in eight.
In Sunday’s 11-6 loss to the Royals at Camden Yards, Holliday had a season-high-tying three hits, including solo home runs in each of his first two plate appearances, the first multihomer game of his MLB career. At 21 years and 151 days old, he became the third-youngest O’s player to hit multiple homers in a game, behind only Manny Machado and Boog Powell, who each did it twice before turning 21.
“When he initially started this move of more of the toe tap and away from the leg kick, his hands were a little further away from him, and I think gave him a little more space to maneuver, and so, we talked about that,” Matt said. “I think it’s been a good adjustment, and it’s keeping his bat, I think, in the strike zone a little bit longer, and I think it’s keeping his front side on the ball a little bit better.
“I think that’s sort of the result of having a little bit more vertical bat and his hands just a little bit further away from his body so that he has a little more space to get inside the ball.”
If Holliday had success with this hand placement last year -- and is having more now -- why’d he change earlier in the season?
“Where I was in Minnesota isn’t where I came in during the spring, and where I came into spring is not how I left to start the season,” Holliday said. “Just constantly trying to make adjustments to improve and try to help the team win. It’s what makes me feel free. We did the overhaul with the whole toe-tap thing and getting my hands a little further out from me.
“Now, we’re just reeling it back into what makes me feel comfortable, and I feel like that’s what’s been working.”
That’s for sure. Holliday’s season numbers have been on the rise, as he is now hitting .273 with one double, one triple, four home runs, 11 RBIs and a .783 OPS in 28 games.
It’s encouraging for Holliday to see off-the-field efforts -- including conversations with his dad -- translate to results.
“It’s a tough game, and you’re constantly going up and down and just trying to stay level. It’s constantly making adjustments,” Holliday said. “It’s very nice to have the stuff that you work on and really think about and then actually go out there and do it and for it to work.”