Holley’s Hitting Spree No Minor Feat
If Bobby Holley retires from professional baseball after this season, and he very well might, he’s having a farewell season to remember.
The Aberdeen Pheasants shortstop is on an 18-game hitting streak, but that number doesn’t tell half the story of Holley’s season. Excluding the games of July 6 and July 26, Holley has hit safely in every game the Pheasants have played this season - 58 of 60 games in all.
“I love the idea of being consistent,” said Holley before Wednesday’s game at Fossum Field. “It’s a nice feeling to walk away from the ballpark at night knowing you got a hit. Or two, or three.”
Holley has had plenty of those twos and threes this summer. He’s hitting over .360 - 45 points higher than his previous career high - and he’s been among the Prairie League’s top 10 hitters all season. He also has 10 home runs and 55 RBIs despite hitting in the unfamiliar No. 2 slot in the Pheasants’ loaded batting order.
“I don’t care how good you are, you’re nothing but a nameless face in this lineup,” Holley said, laughing. “I’ve been a No. 4 or 5 hitter my whole career. But this lineup is full of four and five hitters, so somebody had to hit in the two hole.”
Holley began the season on a 23-game hitting streak, then after one hitless game, he put together a 16-game streak. That streak ended July 26 against Minneapolis, but he had hit in every game since then.
“It’s crazy - before this year the longest hitting streak of my life was probably 11 or 12 games,” Holley said. “I think hitting where I am in the lineup has had a lot to do with it.”
Holley, who will be 28 next month and will be married in October, is almost certain that this season will be his last as a professional player. After Holley and his wife-to-be return from their honeymoon, they plan to settle down in Corona, Calif., where Bobby owns and operates a baseball school and also works as a substitute teacher.
“It would take something big to get me to play next year,” said Holley, who reached the Class AAA level in the Seattle Mariners’ organization in 1993. “The dream of getting to the major leagues is still there for every one of us, but right now my greater dreams are to get married and start a family.
“God still works miracles, though. Right now, God is the only one who knows whether or not I’ll ever make it to the major leagues. Until then, I’ll just work on other things in my life that I enjoy and that are important to me.”