Brian Scott Holman (born January 25, 1965) is a former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
pitcher.
Holman's brother
Brad Holman
Bradley Thomas Holman (born February 9, 1968) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
Playing career
Holman was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 35th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft out of Auburn University Mo ...
and stepfather
Dick LeMay
Richard Paul LeMay (August 28, 1938 – March 19, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, LeMay appeared in parts of three Major League Baseball seasons (1961–63), but had a long career in minor league basebal ...
also were Major League pitchers.
Amateur career
Holman started his high school baseball career at Aurora Hinkley High School in
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in A ...
. He earned “All Centennial League” First Team Pitcher honors and was selected to the Colorado Division AAA “All State” High School Baseball Team.
In 1982, Holman moved to
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
, and attended
Wichita North High School
Wichita North High School, known locally as North, is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district and serves students in grades 9 to 12. The school was founded in 1929 on the sit ...
, where, as a senior, he made the All-State team. After graduating from North High where he earned “All City”, “All District-5” and First Team High School “All American” honors, Holman was selected by the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They p ...
in the first round of the
June 1983 amateur draft/free agent draft. He was the sixteenth player selected overall. Holman decided to forgo a college baseball scholarship to the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Linco ...
to pursue a professional baseball career and signed with the Expos organization.
In 1989, Holman was included in a trade on May 25 to the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
along with
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
and
Gene Harris
Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz.
From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tr ...
for
Mark Langston
Mark Edward Langston (born August 20, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1989), Montreal Expos (1989), California / Anaheim Angels (1990–1997), San Diego Padres (1 ...
and a player to be named later (
Mike Campbell).
Career
While in the Montreal minor league system, Holman earned the Expos' organizational “Player of the Month” three times. He was named to the Double-A and Triple-A “All Star” teams, selected to the Topps Double-A “All Star” Team for all of Double–A baseball and was named ''
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' Southern League Pitcher of the Year.
Holman made his major league debut with Montreal on June 25,
1988, vs.
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
and the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
.
Five days later on June 30, he recorded his first win with a five-hit complete game shutout vs.
Tom Glavine
Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007).
With 164 victories durin ...
and the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...
.
On April 9,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, Holman was the Mariners “Opening Night” starting pitcher vs. the
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
and recorded the victory with a 7–4 win.
Eleven days later on April 20 at
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, he retired the first 26 batters he faced;
Ken Phelps
Kenneth Allan Phelps (born August 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman. He played for six different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from 1980 to 1990, primarily with the Seattle Mariners. Baseb ...
' home run over the head of
Henry Cotto
Henry Cotto (born January 5, 1961) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1984 until 1993. He also played one season in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1994, winning ...
in right field and turned his near-
perfect game into the fourth one-hitter in Mariners history.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Holman logged 32 wins and fourteen complete games, five of those shutouts in two and a half seasons of work. His playing career was cut short by an arm injury.
Retirement
Holman focuses a majority of his time conducting private and group pitching lessons for both amateur and professional players. He is a coach at Texas Edge North Baseball Academy in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...
. He is also a player adviser/representative for Baseball Management Services. Holman is a motivational speaker. Prior to transitioning back into baseball, Holman was a Managing Director and Principal fo
Ronald Blue & Co’s i
Kansas City Kansas. Holman joined
Ronald Blue & Co., a national financial, estate, tax, and investment consulting firm.
In 2007, Holman was inducted into the "
Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame" along with Joe Carter, Bill James and Phil Stephenson.
References
External links
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Brian
1965 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Denver
Gastonia Expos players
Indianapolis Indians players
Jacksonville Expos players
Jamestown Expos players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Montreal Expos players
Seattle Mariners players
West Palm Beach Expos players