An old tweet sent by Buster Olney has gone viral in response to the news of Jackson Holliday’s call-up to the majors.
News emerged on Tuesday night that Holliday was being called up to the Baltimore Orioles’ 25-man roster. The 2022 No. 1 overall pick had been crushing the ball in the minor leagues and spring training, so it was a huge surprise when the Orioles sent him down to Triple-A to begin the season. Holliday continued to crush the ball for the Orioles’ stacked Norfolk team, and now he has been called up.
In response to the big news, a tweet Olney sent in 2013 resurfaced.
On Nov. 13, 2014, Olney tweeted a 3-word proclamation about Holliday, who was 9 years old at the time.
“Matt Holliday’s son: Future All-Star,” Olney tweeted.
Matt Holliday's son: Future All-Star.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 14, 2013
Olney was talking about Jackson.
When someone questioned if it was a little early to make such a prediction, Olney did not back down.
“I’ve seen him hit. I’ll stand by the tweet,” Olney said in response.
@BrettDAngelo I've seen him hit. I'll stand by the tweet.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 14, 2013
Another person pointed out how long the odds are for a young player to make MLB. Olney compared watching Holliday hit at age 9 to seeing Cecil Fielder’s son Prince hit as a young boy.
Well, @CaseyRival, everybody in baseball from the mid-90s remembers Prince Fielder taking BP as a kid. Same deal.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 14, 2013
Prince used to put balls out of MLB stadiums before he was a teenager. Prince later became a 6-time All-Star, 3-time Silver Slugger, and 50-home run hitter in MLB.
Now it’s 10.5 years later, and Olney, a longtime ESPN MLB writer/reporter, is pretty close to being correct. Holliday is the best young prospect in baseball and just got called up to MLB at 20 years old. If he continues to hit the way he has at every level, an All-Star selection will be in his future.
