Jackson Holliday’s return to Busch Stadium comes with a full circle feel, and not just because he’s leading off for Baltimore on Tuesday night.
This is the ballpark where Holliday spent much of his childhood around the Cardinals, back when his father, Matt Holliday, was in St. Louis and the family was a familiar presence in the clubhouse.
Jackson said Tuesday he was about 12 the last time he took batting practice on the field here, and he admitted he never drove a ball over the fence. For a kid that age, that’s not unusual.
For someone who was already a prodigy, it still drew a laugh.
“Maybe from center field,” he laughed. “I’ll try my best in BP, start there, hopefully get a few knocks this week.”
Holliday’s connection to the stadium goes beyond old memories and batting practice rounds. He was only 5 when his father was traded to St.
Louis, and he and his brother Ethan were regulars around the Cardinals clubhouse. That connection even extended to Baltimore’s current shortstop’s personal life: Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was a guest at Holliday’s 2024 wedding to Chloé, who also made the trip to Jackson’s adopted hometown and got a tour of childhood spots on Monday’s off day.
“It’s been cool,” Holliday said. “Drove around a little yesterday to go see the house I grew up in, to play out here, just to be able to drive around and remember everything, and drive to the field and go in through a different entrance than I came in as a kid. It was really fun to go out there and look around.”
Busch Stadium also holds one of Holliday’s earliest baseball memories, and one of the strangest emotional swings a kid could have. He was in the Cardinals’ hospitality area for families when Game 6 of the 2011 World Series was winding down, “thinking that we’re about to lose the World Series,” as he put it.
Then came the Cardinals’ historic comeback, capped by David Freese, and a Game 7 win with his father injured and off the roster. “Kind of a rollercoaster of emotions as a kid,” Holliday said.
On Tuesday, Holliday was back in his usual leadoff spot, this time at second base. Even before first pitch, the homecoming was already landing.
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