Matt Holliday
MLB debut April 16, 2004 for the Colorado Rockies Career statistics (through 2014 season) Batting average .308 Hits 1,837 Home runs 271 Runs batted in 1,056 Slugging percentage .523 Runs 1,032 Teams Colorado Rockies (2004–2008) Oakland Athletics (2009) St. Louis Cardinals (2009–present) Career highlights and awards 6× All-Star (2006–2008, 2010–2012) World Series champion (2011) NLCS MVP (2007) 4× Silver Slugger Award (2006–2008, 2010) NL batting champion (2007) NL RBI champion (2007) Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Colorado Rockies selected him in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma. Holliday made his major league debut with the Rockies in 2004, where he played until being traded to the Oakland Athletics after the 2008 season. He played part of the 2009 season for Oakland and was traded to the Cardinals that year. He re-signed with the Cardinals after becoming a free agent and is under contract through 2017. A highly-touted NFL quarterback prospect while in high school, Holliday emerged as an all-round hitter in the major leagues, becoming known for his prodigious power and consistently high batting averages. He is a six-time All-Star selection and a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Holliday hit the longest home run in MLB in 2006, and also the longest home run at Busch Stadium in 2012. He has batted over .300 seven times and hit at least 20 home runs each season from 2006–14. A more consistent hitter in the second of the half of the season throughout his career, he has generated a .937 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) in the second half compared to .884, and has hit 13 more home runs in 160 fewer games, through 2014. In 2006, he became the 19th player ever to reach 195 hits, 30 home runs, 45 doubles, 115 runs and 110 RBI in one season. The next season, he improved in all offensive categories and became the 13th player since 1962 to collect 200 hits and 50 doubles in a season. He also won his first batting title and finished runner-up in the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). He won the NL Championship Series MVP while helping lead the Rockies to their first-ever NL pennant and World Series appearance. In 2011, he won his first World Series ring with the Cardinals.