Tom Holliday Has Four Cowboys and Plenty of Anglers Set for Tulsa Drillers College Team
STILLWATER -- Former Oklahoma State baseball head coach and father of current Cowboys baseball coach Josh Holliday, Tom Holliday said when he picked up the phone several days ago he thought he was about to become the manager of the Tulsa Drillers, the double A minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Okay, Holliday is the manager of the Drillers, but not the minor league double A team, but instead the college version of the Tulsa Drillers. Holliday will head up the Drillers that will play in the Texas Collegiate League. It's an idea that the Texas League teams came up with to have some baseball in their stadiums this summer.
"I was able to get most of my Cape Cod team from Chatham to come down here," Holliday said of his collegiate players that were committed to playing for him in the cancelled Cape Cod season for the Chatham Anglers. "I'm a little apprehensive because I've never coached under the restrictions we're going to be dealing with (COVID-19). I hope we can keep the players safe and give them a good experience. These will be good ballparks they will be playing in. Then I hope the Drillers can make up for some of the money they've lost with the (minor league) season."
"The 30-game schedule that for Tulsa will be played in 33-days begins on Tuesday, June 30 with a home game against the Frisco Rough Riders and they will play a three-game set through Thursday before going on the road.
The 2020 roster of teams will comprise of 10 franchises made up of active college players (upcoming sophomores to seniors) from different across the nation. The current four ownership groups including the Acadiana Cane Cutters (Lafayette, LA), Brazos Valley Bombers (Bryan-College Station, TX), Texarkana (TX) Twins, and Victoria (TX) Generals will be joined in 2020 by five Minor League organizations including Double-A franchises Amarillo (two teams), Frisco and Tulsa, and Triple-A franchises San Antonio and Round Rock.
The postseason format will begin with a three-game divisional series played by the top two seeds from each division. The of each division will then face off in a winner-take-all championship game for the Gerald Haddock Trophy.
It's a wood bat league and Holliday will be assisted by his staff that would have been with him at Chatham in the Cape Cod League this summer with two-time American League All-Star and former Oklahoma State catcher Mickey Tettleton, former Cowboys second baseman Randy Whisler, and Cody Semler.
The Drillers will emphasize social distancing inside OneOk Stadium and will sell tickets accordingly, but will rely on fans to group themselves by families and sit apart and leave seats between individuals and groups. There are four homestands. Each Tulsa home game will start at 7:00 p.m. The four homestands will run June 30-July 2, July 7-9, July 14-19 and July 24-26.
NCAA rules only allow four players from one school to be on a summer team, and Holliday explained to Pokes Report his selections and his plans for those four players.
Bryce Osmond, Fr., Pitcher
"Certainly, the first player I wanted to get was Bryce Osmond, the freshman with an electric arm," explained Holliday. "He was going to pitch for me at Cape Cod and having seen him for the last two years, this guy is going to blossom and he is going to be really, really special. We're lucky that we've got him.'
Max Hewitt, Sr., Catcher
"We took Max Hewitt, the kid that has turned into a catcher," Holliday said of the veteran Cowboy that converted from infield utility to catcher this spring. "Josh caught him a bunch and he's got a chance. He is so intelligent with baseball. He is a baseball rat. If you're going to learn how to catch that's the makeup you want. He is not as tuned to mechanics. He needs a lot of work in that area, and I would think between Mickey and I that we would be able to help him over six weeks. That is going to be a fun project there."
Cade Cabbiness, Sr., Outfielder
"Cade Cabbiness didn't get drafted and he decided not to take the proverbial $20,000 package and he is coming back to school," Holliday explained of Cabbiness. "I had Cade at the Cape last season and for about three weeks last summer, Robert, with a wood bat in his hand he looked and sounded like someone that was about to turn into something really special. A wood bat tells you a lot about a hitter and he is going to face some really good arms. Even though he is getting a little bit old, but if you can hit and you can prove it then it doesn't matter how much money you get. Cade's coming back and he is one of the best outfielders that I've seen in the last 10-years in college baseball. I'm going to challenge him. I'm going to put him in centerfield with two strong guys on either side of him. He's not going to just go out on the field and get bored."
Hueston Morrill, So., Shortstop
"Huey Morrill is going to play shortstop and he is another guy that I thibnk is on the edge of becoming a big leaguer," Holliday said. "Huey is a baseball rat and he was really excited when I called him and said, 'Coach, when and where?' When he found out it was Tulsa then he was really excited because of how close it is to his school. Huey is going to play short and I might play him some at second and maybe a little at third. One thing that I'm not going to do in this heat is overplay him."
Holliday won't have to do that with any players. The roster is big, 35, and he has talented players including four from Southern Cal, three from Oral Roberts, and one from Oklahoma.
It should be fun and will get me away from watching reruns of Mickey Tettleton spoiling the debut of "Little Big League" movie manager Billy Heywood on MLB Network. We'll get some real baseball!
