Cowboy Baseball Working Hard inside O'Brate and Holliday's Former Roommates are in the World Series
STILLWATER -- There have been a number of days the past several weeks that I have looked over and seen the big American flag waving in the corner of brand new O'Brate Stadium and the Oklahoma State Pistol Pete flag waving in centerfield. I knew inside that there was Cowboy baseball being played, either practice or likely one of those fall scrimmages where veterans like shortstop/second baseman Hueston Morrill or rightfielder Cade Cabbiness were staring out at freshman pitcher and Asher, Okla. product Trevor Martin, all 6-5 and 220-pounds of him. Maybe speedy freshman outfielder Dominic Johnson, the son of a former Cowboys cornerback in football, was getting a lead off of first base and threatening to steal second off recently groomed catcher Max Hewitt.
I know that I'm not alone and Oklahoma State fans want to see their team and want to see the new home of Oklahoma State baseball. Cowboys head coach Josh Holliday told me this past week that both are working out fine right now. He has major thanks for the Oklahoma State medical staff of Dr. Val Gene Iven, baseball team doctor Dr. Donald Crawley, and athletic trainer Eli Williams. Baseball has navigated COVID-19 and had productive team workouts and scrimmages.
"We have a full squad right now and we've kept them healthy and we have a chance to see all the kids," Holliday said. "All things considered we're pretty happy with that right now and when you get to the baseball side and breaking it down, we have a good team, really good veteran players that we like a great deal and newcomers that have done a good job establishing themselves quickly and there is a lot of competition."
Holliday loves the new stadium and all that it has to offer. He wishes that he could show it off to fans and to recruits. Recruits have actually seen it even if the coaches can't show it to them because NCAA rules forbid in person recruiting in Division I through the end of this year.
"I've been amazed that we've had kids and their families take the time and the expense to travel across the country and come see campuses, including some coming to our campus," Holliday said. "We can't see them, but we can communicate and give them a good idea of what to see and what to look for. We've done a lot on the computer and with virtual visits, but we've had recruits come here and then get home and call us and say they loved it and they want to be Cowboys."
As for the fans.
"We look forward to the time that we can open up the stadium and welcome our fans in," said the head coach. "It is not safe to do so, or we can't do it yet, but as soon as we can we want our fans coming in and enjoying seeing our players and how hard they have worked.
"Being at O'Brate Stadium has been nothing short of fantastic," Holliday added. "We are able to get a lot done because of the training opportunities created by this facility. Really happy about the team and so grateful that we are back together."
Now with former major leaguers on the Oklahoma State coaching staff like All-Stars in Matt Holliday and Robin Ventura and all those young players that dream of big league careers you know that they have been paying close attention to the major league playoffs and the World Series.
Holliday has been clear that he has really been rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who on Sunday night finished a comeback in the National League Championship Series to get past the Atlanta Braves. Oklahoma State Baseball Hall of Famer and Josh Holliday's college roommate and close friend Billy Gasparino heads up the Los Angeles Dodgers scouting department. Former OSU pitcher Jon Adkins helps Gasparino with Dodgers scouting. Holliday recruited and coached several former Vanderbilt players in the playoffs like the Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler.
You can see where Holliday would cheer on Dodger blue for the World Series starting on Tuesday.
However, Holliday had a strong rooting interest in the American League Championship in the seven-game winner of that crazy series, Tampa Bay. The Rays manager and a strong candidate for Major League Manager of the Year, Kevin Cash, was Holliday's minor league roommate when the two were in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
"I root passionately for the Rays because of Kevin (being my minor league roommate)," Holliday revealed. "The best part of it is the great pitching, hitting, and defense and the stars that are emerging. If you know someone then you are going to root for them. Holliday and Cash were roommates in their first stop in the minors for the Blue Jays at Hagerstown, Md.
"Kevin was a great roommate, a funny guy, and we had a lot of late night conversations about baseball," Holliday continued about a time when talking baseball was about the only thing they could afford to do. "I kind of knew that he had that personality to do something one day with a group. He has that ability to relate to all kinds of people, funny, and great knowledge of the game."
Holliday left pro baseball soon after the two roomed together. Josh said he knew his future was in college baseball, but Cash stayed on, played some in the major leagues. He was influenced in his coaching and managing by Terry Francona and also former Oklahoma State pitcher and major league pitcher and eventual manager John Farrell.
"Kevin has some of that Oklahoma State connection, but the locker room revolved around him and he was funny, could tell great stories, put his arm around you and make you feel better as a player. I think you see some of that with him as a manager and how he handles the Rays players."
The Rays vs. Dodgers World Series will cause some pause for Holliday, but he'll probably lean to that Oklahoma State connection with Gasparino and Adkins. Hard to beat that Cowboys connection. However, either team wins and Holliday has a former roommate with a World Series ring.
