Colorado Rockies: Matt Holliday nominee for National HS Hall of Fame

Former Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday will be one of two nominees submitted by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association in 2020 to the National High School Hall of Fame.

While playing at Stillwater High School, Holliday played baseball and football. He was a highly touted quarterback who established an Oklahoma state record with 35 touchdown passes during his junior year. As a senior, Holliday earned All-American honors and his region’s Gatorade Player of the Year award in both sports.

Holliday eventually chose to play baseball professionally and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft.

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That would be the start of a 15-year MLB playing career, including six years with the Rockies. He finished fifth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2004 and second in the Most Valuable Player voting in 2007 when he hit .340 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI.

Holliday also etched his name into Rockies lore with his slide across home plate (yes, he did touch the plate) in the 13th inning of the 2007 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game. Colorado would go on to win its first and (to this date) only National League pennant.

He would also earn three All-Star Game appearances and three Silver Slugger awards before being traded by the Rockies to the Oakland A’s on November 10, 2008, for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street.

Holliday returned to the Rockies in 2018 to bookend his career, helping Colorado earn its second consecutive postseason berth. In 25 games, he slashed .283/.415/.434 and provided the Rockies with some power in a veteran role off the bench.

The National High School Hall of Fame is a product of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Launched in 1982, the Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to sports or the performing arts.