Cardinals legend reveals exact moment he saw Jackson Holliday has a future in MLB
The Baltimore Orioles selected Jackson Holliday with the first pick in the 2022 MLB draft. The infielder has been one of the most sought-after talents in baseball, making his MLB debut last year.
Jackson boasts a strong baseball pedigree as his father Matt, a 15-season MLB veteran, had a stellar resume, making seven All-Star games and helping the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series in 2011.
The former NLCS MVP joined the ESPN broadcast along with his son Jackson on SportsCenter for Father's Day. During his appearance, the Cardinals Hall of Famer revealed the moment he saw Jackson's potential as an MLB player. Matt said (3:00 onwards):
"I don't think that I could say, 'Well, I know he's going to be a big leaguer,' but at a really young age, like two years old, he had a really fundamental sound swing, just pitching wiffle balls to him from early on, I thought, 'Wow, you know if he really loves baseball, I think he has the natural ability to do that.'
"But I think the one thing that I tell people when I learned how much he loved to practice, how much he loves the game, and to put in the work is that I really knew he had a chance to play in the major leagues because it's a tough league. You have to love to train, love the practice.
"Once I realized how much he loves the game, and he combined that with his natural god-given ability, I thought he could make a career out of baseball."
Matt and Jackson Holliday reveal skills they would take from each other
When asked what skill the Baltimore Orioles star would love to take from his father's game, Jackson Holliday said he would like to have some of the power his father had during his playing career.
Meanwhile, the former World Series, answered the same question by saying he wouldn't mind some of the paces his son has as it would have helped him with infield hits during his 15-season career.
While Matt Holliday finished his career with a .299 batting average and 316 home runs, Jackson is still finding his feet in his second season with the Orioles in major league.