What about Matt Holliday?

If you read “A Tale of Two Matts” last night, you may have noticed something was missing. A third Matt, maybe. I read the comments some of you made about missing a Matt. That Matt being Matt Holliday. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

It’s not that I purposely left out Matt Holliday from my post. In fact, Matt Holliday is one of my (many) favorite Cardinals. I guess I just missed it because my brain doesn’t put him in the same categories as the other two. That is not a put down of any of the three Matts. I just think of them somewhat separately.

To me, Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams are still earning their keep, if you will. They are proving themselves on a postseason stage. Matt Holliday is a guy we expect to show up in the postseason, every postseason. He is a seasoned veteran that not only handles the bat well, but he also is known for throwing out a runner or two from left field.

Looking at the NLDS against the Dodgers, this Matt came up big right from the start. In the 7th inning of game 1, Holliday hit a 410 foot 3 run home run to left off Pedro Baez, sealing the win (remember, the Cards won that game 10-9).

Overall in the series, Holliday went 4 for 15 with one home run and 3 RBIs. That puts his postseason average at .267. No, it doesn’t seem impressive if you’re just looking at the numbers, but as the Cardinals’ fans know, it’s not just about the numbers. It seemed to me that every time the Cards needed Holliday to get a hit, he got one. He was known to spark a rally or two, including the rally that ended in the clinching of the series Tuesday night, when he got the first hit before Peralta also got on and Adams hit his three run homer.

There is one more thing I want to mention about this Matt. He commands respect when he is on the diamond. You can choose to agree or disagree with me, but let me tell you why I think this. Matt Holliday is a veteran who plays every game without showboating, gloating, or celebrating in the other teams’ faces. He does his thing quietly, without looking for approval from anyone. In this day and age, that can be hard to find.

As a member of Cardinal Nation, my apologies for not even mentioning this Matt last night. I think I subconsciously believed he needed a post all to himself.

In the words of my young, but wise brother in law: “Matt Holliday is kind of an unsung hero of the NLDS (much like Berkman in the 2011 World Series). He started the 2 big innings against Kershaw. He also had what ended up being a HUGE 3 run shot in Game 1.” Thanks for the wisdom, Zach!

As always…Go Cards!

Photo: stltoday.com