Stanley Craig Holmes (February 1, 1960 – February 28, 2011) was an American college and minor league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder who is most notable for winning the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

MVP award in 1981. Holmes was born in

Dos Palos, California Dos Palos (Spanish for "Two Timbers") is a city in Merced County, California, United States. Dos Palos is located south-southwest of Merced, the county seat, at an elevation of . The population was 5,798 at the 2020 census, up from 4,950 at th ...

, where in high school one of his baseball teammates was future major leaguer

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletic ...

. Holmes played college baseball at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and won the Most Outstanding Player award at the 1981 College World Series as a senior. He is one of five players from Arizona State University to win that award. The others are

Sal Bando Salvatore Leonard Bando (born February 13, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from to , most prominently as the team captain for the Oakland Athletic ...

John Dolinsek John N. Dolinsek (born January 3, 1948) is an American former baseball outfielder and first baseman, most notable for winning the College World Series Most Outstanding Player award as a member of the 1969 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team. Li ...

Bob Horner James Robert Horner (born August 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman and a first baseman from to , most prominently as a ...

and Ron Davini.

Minor league career

Holmes was drafted by big league teams twice. In 1980, he was selected in the 19th round by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

and chose not to sign with them. He played for the

Alaska Goldpanners The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an Independent league baseball, independent Barnstorm (sports), barnstorming team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball ...

in 1980. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the eighth round of the 1981 draft and signed with them. He played professionally until 1989, never reaching the majors. Although he began his professional career as an outfielder, he also spent a considerable amount of time playing first base and third base. In his first professional season, 1981, he played for the Wisconsin Rapids Twins. In 182 at-bats he hit .291 with seven home runs and 38 RBI. He played for the

Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

in 1982, hitting .250 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 80 at-bats. Playing for the

Visalia Oaks Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

in 1983, Holmes had perhaps the best year of his professional career when he hit .302 with 37 home runs and 115 RBI in 500 at-bats. He won the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

MVP Award that season. Still with Orlando in 1984, he hit .280 with 25 home runs and 101 RBI in 507 at-bats. In 1985, playing for both the Orlando Twins and

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, he hit a combined .235 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI in 340 at-bats. In 1986, he again played for Orlando and Toledo, hitting a combined .244 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 315 at-bats. From 1987 to 1989, he played in the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

organization. In 1987, he played for the

Midland Angels Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Naga ...

, hitting .309 with 30 home runs and 106 RBI in 517 at-bats. While playing for the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. T ...

in 1988, he slumped and hit only .254 with 14 home runs and 62 RBI in 331 at-bats. He again played for the Trappers in 1989, hitting .158 in 38 at-bats. He finished up his career with the

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

, hitting .167 in 48 at-bats. Overall, Holmes hit .273 with 143 home runs and 545 RBI in 2858 at-bats. He also pitched in ten games, posting a 5.06 ERA. Holmes died in February 2011, of complications from liver and kidney failure.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Stan 1960 births 2011 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball catchers Baseball first basemen Baseball players from California Baseball third basemen Edmonton Trappers players College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners Diablos Rojos del México players category:Huntsville Stars players Midland Angels players Orlando Twins players People from Merced County, California Toledo Mud Hens players Visalia Oaks players Wisconsin Rapids Twins players

Minor league career

References

Further reading

External links