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ESPN's Buster Olney Gets Credit for Old Tweet About Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday

When Jackson Holliday was 9 years old, ESPN reporter Buster Olney predicted he would be an All-Star. Now, he's making his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles.
Sam Connon|
Mar 19, 2024; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (87).
Mar 19, 2024; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (87). | Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

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Baltimore Orioles

On November 14, 2013, ESPN reporter Buster Olney posted quite the hot take on social media.

He predicted that Jackson Holliday, the son of then-St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday, was going to be an MLB All-Star one day.

Jackson Holliday was 9 years old at the time. As a result, many Twitter users mocked Olney, either laughing at his prognostication or criticizing him for putting so much pressure on a child.

Fast forward just over 10 years, and Holliday is set to make his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles.

Holliday, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, officially got called up to the big leagues on Wednesday. With so much hype building around his first MLB appearance, people were able to go back and find Olney's old tweet and give him some long-delayed kudos.

At the time, Matt Holliday had made six All-Star games and won four Silver Slugger Awards. He was a superstar during his days with the Colorado Rockies, then he helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series title.

Jackson has a long ways to go before he can match his father's resume, but his production in the minor leagues is surely a good sign for what he can accomplish moving forward. The 20-year-old shortstop has played 155 games in the Orioles' farm system, batting .321 with 15 home runs, 93 RBI, 29 stolen bases and a .949 OPS.

At Spring Training earlier this year, Holliday hit .311 with two home runs, six RBI and a .954 OPS.

The younger Holliday will get his first taste of regular season MLB action Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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