In his first game after being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals by the Oakland A’s, Matt Holliday tied a career high in hits, going 4-5. In his 93 games with the Athletics, he had got 4 hits in a game only twice. Yesterday in Philly, he also had a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. I don’t think this will be a flash in the pan for Holliday; I predict a great second-half from this three-time All-Star. Moving to the NL, he might be another Edgar Renteria-type player, who seems to thrive exclusively in the National League. (Renteria played in Boston in 2005 and in Detroit last year. Since 2002, his ’05 and ’08 totals are his two worst seasons in SB, BA, SLG, OPS, HR, E, and FPCT.) Matt Holliday was a huge success in Colorado playing in the NL, and now that he’s back in his comfort zone, we’ll see more of the 2006-2008 Holliday, who won three consecutive Silver Slugger Awards and three consecutive trips to the All-Star game. Another reason he’ll continue to hit with St. Louis is that he is now on a competitive team where every game matters. Oakland is 17.0 games behind the Angels in the NL West and has the worst attendance in all of baseball. St. Louis leads the NL Central and has the fifth-best attendance in the MLB. Holliday prefers a full stadium, as evidenced by his .428 BA in stadiums that average more than 30,000 fans per game, compared to his .270 BA everywhere else. The Cardinals’ Busch Stadium averages over 40,000 per game, so look for continued success from Matt Holliday in St. Louis this season.
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