Mario Eduardo Lemus Hollands (born August 26, 1988) is an American former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
left-handed
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...
. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
in .
Hollands played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
for the
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as ''UC Santa Barbara'' or ''UCSB'', the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I ...
, where he earned a degree in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
. The Phillies drafted him in the
2010 MLB Draft
The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
First-round selections
The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...
, and after a few seasons in their
farm system
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
, they invited him to
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
, in 2014. After performing well in those exhibition games, he made the Phillies' 2014
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
roster, and although he walked too many hitters, showed some potential to emerge as a decent relief pitcher. His teammates described him as a good personality to have in the bullpen, and his coaches approved of his development. Hollands, meanwhile, continued to further his college education, pursuing yet another degree, this time, studying
merchandise marketing, at the
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. It offers degree programs in majors including fashion, entertainment, beauty, interior design, and graphic design. The college was founded in 19 ...
.
Early life
Hollands attended
El Cerrito High School
El Cerrito High School is a four-year public high school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located on Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito, California, United States and serves students from El Cerrito, a portion of eastern Richm ...
in
El Cerrito, California
El Cerrito (Spanish for "The Little Hill") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 census. El Cerrito was founded by refugees ...
, where he played for the school's baseball team as a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. He then enrolled at the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...
(UCSB), where he played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
for the
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team represents the University of California, Santa Barbara in the sport of baseball. The Gauchos compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) through the Big West Conference. ...
team.
After
redshirting his first season, he was named the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
freshman of the year and received placement on the national freshman All-American team in 2008. His sophomore season was less successful, and was hampered by a groin injury. The
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
drafted him in the subsequent draft, but he did not sign. He focused on bulking up and improving the velocity of his fastball, which gained about thanks to his work. In college, his coaches praised his mental toughness, a key to being a good pitcher.
In 2008, he played
collegiate summer baseball
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
in the
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
(CCBL) for the
Cotuit Kettleers
The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...
, and returned to the CCBL in 2009 to play for the
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.
Hollands went on to have a strong senior season, during which he "was twice named the Big West Pitcher of the Week, twice named the National Pitcher of the Year, and tied a school record with a 16 strikeout performance." He graduated from UCSB with a degree in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
.
The
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
selected Hollands in the tenth round of the
2010 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
First-round selections
The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...
.
Professional career
Minor league career
Hollands pitched for the
Lakewood BlueClaws
The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...
of the
Class A South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
in 2011, and then pitched for Lakewood, the
Clearwater Threshers
The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...
of the
Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...
, the
Reading Phillies
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
of the
Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
Eastern League, and the
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...
of the
Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
in 2012.
[ Essentially, Hollands pitched for "whatever minor-league team required pitching help", which in one case required him to sleep on the living room floor of a shared apartment.] Late in the season in Lehigh Valley, he compiled a 9.24 earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) in three starts, and possessed a fastball that reached only , prompting Rod Nichols, then Lehigh Valley's pitching coach, and subsequently the Phillies' bullpen coach, to praise Hollands' work ethic, but opine that his pitching repertoire was insufficiently effective. He had a solid 2013 season with Clearwater and Reading,[ recording a 1.56 ERA in 14 games for Clearwater between May 3 and July 10, and then a 4.06 ERA after being promoted to Reading. He then pitched for the ]Tiburones de La Guaira
The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...
in the Venezuelan Winter League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
History Early years
Baseball exp ...
after the season, recording a 2.45 ERA. Phillies' officials credited that experience in Venezuelan winner ball as the impetus for his subsequent success. Hollands commented, "I've just gotten better," while Nichols commented, "He found it."
Major league career
The Phillies invited Hollands to spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
in 2014. He made the team's Opening Day roster after compiling a 3.09 ERA in nine exhibition appearances. His performance in spring training left Phillies' manager Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (19 ...
and pitching coach Bob McClure
Robert Craig McClure (born April 29, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1975 to 1993, most notably as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers with whom he ...
"smitten," especially considering the fact that he entered spring training as a "veritable unknown." He made his major league debut on April 1, coming into the ninth inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...
of a tied game. Hollands allowed two walks, before being relieved by B. J. Rosenberg, who allowed an inherited runner
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
...
to score. Hollands received the loss
Loss may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006)
* ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001)
*"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008)
* Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...
. As the season progressed, Hollands was rather streaky, seeing some success in May and June, but experiencing a stretch in July during which he retired only seven of 19 batters, and surrendered six runs. He walked 10.3% of batters he faced. Ryan Sommers of ''Crashburn Alley'' commented, Overall, Hollands pitched 50 games, and compiled a 4.40 ERA with a 2–2 record.
As spring training 2015 began, Hollands noted that he was not taking a spot in the bullpen for granted, and that he expected to compete with several other lefties. During spring training, he strained the common flexor tendon
The common flexor tendon is a tendon that attaches to the medial epicondyle of the humerus (lower part of the bone of the upper arm that is near the elbow joint).
It serves as the upper attachment point for the superficial muscles of the fron ...
in his throwing arm. He underwent Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
in April, and missed the 2015 season. After completing a rehabilitation assignment, the Phillies optioned
In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...
Hollands to Lehigh Valley on June 2, 2016. He was released on May 20, 2017.
Personal life
Cognizant that there is "life after baseball", in 2013, Hollands enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. It offers degree programs in majors including fashion, entertainment, beauty, interior design, and graphic design. The college was founded in 19 ...
to earn a degree merchandise marketing. He notes that fashion has permeated his life; he grew up in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where fashion is "everywhere and a part of everyone's life in some way or another", and worked at an Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Februar ...
store while in high school. He also frequently counsels his teammates on appropriate fashion choices. Fellow reliever Jake Diekman characterized Hollands as having a "really good personality for the bullpen ... I don't know, he just hangs out, he's probably the most chill human being I have ever met in my life." He has even instructed fellow relievers on techniques for folding shirts. Despite earning during his first season, Hollands takes the subway to Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...
for Phillies' games. While on the subway, he applies his degree in sociology by studying Philadelphians and their mannerisms.
Player profile
A "funky" lefty who "throws hard and looks deceptive," Hollands' fastball hovers around but can modestly exceed that at times, a drastic increase from his velocity while pitching in the minor leagues, and a primary reason for his emergence on the Phillies' major league pitching staff. Secondarily, he throws a slider
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
, that "at its peak, can be impressive". At times, he struggles with his control, and issues walks with relative frequency, but as a young pitcher, shows potential to develop if he can avoid nibbling, and focus on directly attacking hitters with better command of his pitches within the strike zone.
References
External links
Mario Hollands
at Baseball Almanac
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollands, Mario
1988 births
Living people
Baseball players from Oakland, California
Major League Baseball pitchers
Philadelphia Phillies players
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players
Cotuit Kettleers players
Williamsport Crosscutters players
Lakewood BlueClaws players
Clearwater Threshers players
Reading Phillies players
Reading Fightin Phils players
Lehigh Valley IronPigs players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players