By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

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Outfielder Tyler Holt, recalled May 1 by the Cleveland Indians from Columbus of the Triple-A International League, was with the Clippers for this year’s season opener in Indianapolis.  The Columbus roster listed his hometown as Marion, Illinois. 

“I’ll have to get that changed,” said Holt, a Gainesville, Florida, resident whose birthplace is Marion, Indiana.  “I don’t even know what that means.  Is there a Marion, Illinois?”

Kenny Holt, Tyler’s dad, is from Florida while his mom, Becky, is from Indiana.  “So when they got married, that’s where they moved,” explained Holt, who was born in Marion in 1989.  “I heard they went through one winter here, and my dad, who’s from West Palm Beach, said ‘That’s enough!’”

The Holts moved to West Palm, and a few years later relocated to Gainesville.  “That’s where I still live today,” said Tyler.  “I was born here (in Indiana), I only lived here for a year, but I visit often.” 

Holt’s Hoosier relatives came to Victory Field for opening day.  His sister, Amber Garland  (a student nurse who lives in Pittsboro), was on hand along with their maternal grandparents, Max and Alice Harper, who live in Marion.  “They came back last night (for the second game of the series),” said Holt, “and they’re coming again these next two days along with my cousin and her two kids.” 

Holt’s family members weren’t disappointed.  During the series, Tyler saw action in left and center field and served as designated hitter.  The right-handed batter went 2-for-4 in the opener with a third-inning double and a three-base hit in the ninth as the Clippers won 4-0. 

While Holt was hoping to begin the year with Cleveland, he figured he’d wind up in Columbus.  “I think I need to put some more quality at-bats together and hit for a little bit more power,” he said.      

Speed and defense have never been a problem for the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Holt.   At Gainesville High School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, Holt played football and soccer as well as baseball.  “Soccer was my first love,” he said.  “I still love it today.”

A receiver, defensive back and kicker in football, he says he was good enough to earn a scholarship from FSU.  “Then I quit,” he added, “for safety reasons.” 

It was obvious by then that Holt’s future wasn’t on the gridiron or the soccer field, but the diamond.  Named to all-state teams in each of his four prep baseball campaigns, he batted .608 as a senior in 2007 with six homers, 42 runs batted in, and 32 stolen bases.  

He continued to shine at Florida State.  In 2008, his freshman year, one of his Seminole teammates was Buster Posey, who would go on to win National League Rookie of the Year honors two years later with the San Francisco Giants.  As FSU’s center fielder, Holt played in every game and hit .324.  He was second in the nation with 64 walks that year, and batted .444 in two games at the College World Series in Omaha.  “It was a good learning experience,” he said.  “I think I grew up fast, on and off the field.” 

Holt hit .401 as a sophomore in 2009.  The Seminoles didn’t reach the College World Series, but he was selected to play for Team USA.  “We lost a five-game series in Japan,” he said.  “Then we went to British Columbia for the World Baseball Challenge.  We beat Canada in the semifinals, and then Germany.”

In 22 games for the national squad, Holt batted .371 (33-for-89), including a 2-for-4 performance with a double, a run and two RBI against Germany in the championship game.  “Putting on the nation’s colors and getting to play for your country is pretty cool,” he said.

As a junior in 2010 Holt batted .355 with 13 homers.  FSU returned to the College World Series, where he hit .417.  Cleveland took Holt in the tenth round of the draft.  “I think I found out in the middle of practice for an NCAA Regional or the Super Regional,” he said.  “You get a ‘Congratulations!’ and you just keep practicing.”

Brad Tyler, who signed Holt for the Indians, is a native of Aurora, Indiana, who played for South Dearborn High School and the University Evansville before spending 13 years in organized baseball.

Holt reported to Lake County (Eastlake, Ohio, in the low class-A Midwest League) and batted .286 in 22 contests.  In 2011 at Kinston, N.C. (high-A Carolina), he averaged .254 with a league-high 78 walks.  He split the 2012 campaign between the Carolina League, where he hit .263 in 81 games, and Akron, Ohio (AA Eastern), batting .250 in 55 contests. 

Back with Akron for 2013, Holt averaged .267 over 133 games.  Baseball America described him as “an extremely disciplined hitter who works counts, doesn’t chase many pitches, sprays the ball to all fields and gets on base at high rates.”  The magazine went on to say that scouts debated whether his skills would translate at higher levels.

That changed in 2014. 

“Probably a month into the season, it kind of fell into place,” Holt explained.  “I went into the batting cage one day with (Akron hitting coach) Rougie Odor, and I just got a feel for it.  I changed my stance a little – more relaxed, more upright.  Things took off, and it’s been working ever since.”

Hitting at a .298 clip after 39 games with Akron, Holt earned a promotion to Columbus.  On July 6, after Cleveland center fielder Michael Bourn went on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, Holt joined the Indians.

"Surreal,” Holt said of his promotion to the big leagues.  “It was a blessing.  I think anyone that’s been called up will have the same feelings.” 

Two days after his major league debut, the Indians sent Holt back to Columbus.  He made three more trips to Cleveland before the summer was over – August 1-5, August 10-16 and August 19 to the end of the season. 

“I kept going back and forth.  I came up when they needed me,” said Holt, who spent most of his time in right field.  “I played left here and there, but those aren’t my primary positions.  Center field is.  But if you don’t act like it’s any different, everything falls into place.”

At Columbus, his stats included a .308 average with 20 steals in 59 games.  He had a .268 mark in 36 contests for Cleveland. 

Holt spent the winter in Tallahassee, working out at Florida State.  “It’s kind of hard to say ‘no’ and turn down free facilities and guys who are willing to help you out,” he said.

After 19 games with Columbus this year, Holt was hitting .328.  Meanwhile, Cleveland stumbled out of the blocks with a 9-15 record through May 4. 

With a pitching staff that boasts 2014 American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and a lineup that includes outfielder Michael Brantley – third in last year’s AL MVP balloting – Sports Illustrated forecast the Indians as this year’s World Series winners.  “So prepare yourselves, Cleveland,” SI boldly predicted, “the Indians will scamper off with their first championship since 1948.”

Asked if he’d be there for the celebration, Holt’s response was emphatic:  “I better be!” 

The Indians, he said, have “a great core of guys.”  And, he added, several of his old Columbus teammates “can impact the club.”

Holt’s offered a more modest self-evaluation.  “I’m nothing special,” he insisted.  “I don’t have anything too crazy.  I don’t hit the ball out of the ballpark.  I’m not Billy Hamilton-fast.  I just gotta do what I have to do to stay in the field.  If you stop doing those kinds of things, you’re gonna be out of the game fast.”    

Pete Cava is the author of Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014, coming soon from McFarland Publishers.