Michael James Holtz (born October 10, 1972) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

and

left-handed specialist In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed Batter (baseball), batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the California / Anaheim Angels,

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Professional career

On June 2, 1994, Holtz was drafted by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the 17th round of the

1994 Major League Baseball draft The 1994 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1994. The draft saw the New York Mets select Paul Wilson first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Supplem ...

. In 1997, he was named to the

Topps All-Star Rookie Team The Topps All-Star Rookie Team, also known as the Topps ASRT, is a list of notable Major League Baseball rookie players chosen annually by Topps Company, Inc. In most years since 1960, the company has issued a special set of baseball cards featuri ...

along with fellow Angel teammate

Jason Dickson Jason Royce Dickson (born March 30, 1973) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. Dickson is a graduate of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. He played for the Somerset Patriots and was drafted by the California Angels in the 6th ...

. In an eight-season career, Holtz posted a 16–19 record with a 4.76

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and three saves in 353 relief appearances. Following the bulk of his MLB career, Holtz played for the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

of the Japanese Central League in 2005 and had a 0–1 mark with 4.38 ERA and 22

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in innings of work. He came back to the majors to pitch in three games for the Red Sox in 2006.

External links

*
Boston Globe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Mike 1972 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Anaheim Angels players Baseball players from Arlington County, Virginia Boise Hawks players Boston Red Sox players California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Angels players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Beavers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players San Diego Padres players Vancouver Canadians players Yokohama BayStars players