They say you know greatness when you see it. That must have been true for longtime ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney, whose social media post from 2013 resurfaced this week predicting Baltimore Orioles phenom Jackson Holliday would be a future MLB All-Star.
Holliday was just 9-years-old at the time, but Olney saw enough to believe the elementary school-aged son of 2011 World Series champion Matt Holliday was destined for dominance on the diamond.
Matt Holliday's son: Future All-Star.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 14, 2013
Olney looked back on his prediction Thursday on Get Up after Holliday made his debut for Baltimore.
“It makes me look smart, but I’ve got to say, anybody who saw Jackson Holliday swing a bat at 7, 8, 9 years old knowing the history of sons who reach the major leagues, you knew that this was going to happen,” Olney said.
https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1778419541204201904
Coincidentally, Holliday ended up with the Orioles, the team Olney covered for years with the Baltimore Sun during the heyday of Cal Ripken Jr.
Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts but did knock in an RBI for Baltimore in his debut on Wednesday night.
Heading into the season, Holliday was MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect after a stellar career at Oklahoma State. It took less than a month for Baltimore to call him up after raking in the minor leagues.
Olney has seen it all over decades covering baseball, but this takes the cake. Not only did Olney say the younger Holliday had big-league potential, he went so far as to predict an All-Star appearance for a kid goofing around in the clubhouse with his dad. Impressive.
[Get Up and Buster Olney on X]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.