"Normal players haven't seen the weight room in two months now, but he's still in there getting after it," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said. "It's paid off for him. You like to see good things happen to good people, and it's paid off for him."
Holliday is a big reason the Rockies are where they are right now, venturing into the postseason for the first time in 12 years after their 9-8, 13-inning victory against San Diego on Monday in which he scored the winning run.
"Remarkable," is how Rockies manager Clint Hurdle described Holliday's season, in which he led the NL in batting average (.340) and RBIs (137), had 92 extra-base hits, including 36 home runs, and a .607 slugging percentage. "Not that we didn't think he could do it, because we believe in all of our players. But the numbers he's put up are astronomical, and this is not the old Coors Field. It's been a fantastic season."
Those who know the quiet family man from Stillwater, Okla., don't believe 2007 is a fluke.
"I think he's going to get better," said Rockies scout Pat Daugherty, who was the team's scouting director when the team drafted Holliday in the seventh round in June 1998.
Helton agreed.
"You know he's going to keep working hard, so I'd say he can get better," said Helton, who shared a giant bearhug with Holliday in the champagne-soaked Rockies clubhouse Monday night. "I know he's 100 times better than he was last year defensively."
While that has impressed coaches, it's the sheer power that most fans see, and Daugherty saw it when the Rockies brought the 18-year-old in for a workout after drafting him nine years ago.
