Your 2013 Huntsville Stars

[Mass Haas]

Stars' busy reliever Greg Holle finds inspiration in his father's pro baseball career

by Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Huntsville Stars' busiest pitcher is sitting in the Stars' dugout after batting practice, the PA system playing its convoluted medley of classic rock and current rock and modern country.

 

While the Stars hitters were taking their hacks, Greg Holle and fellow reliever Eric Marzec, the 5-foot-11 blond polar opposite to the dark-haired, 6-8 Holle, were idly talking about family and baseball.

 

That's the perfect jumping-off point to learn about Holle.

 

Holle was the Brewers' 11th round pick in the 2010 draft.

 

Gary Holle, his father, was the Brewers' 13th round pick in the 1976 draft.

 

Greg pitched in college at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

 

Gary reached the majors for a brief time with the Texas Rangers, in nearby Arlington. It was during a family trip to a Rangers' game, when Gary was invited back to ceremonies honoring Nolan Ryan, that Greg determined "I wanted to go South (from the home in Loudonville, N.Y.) for college."

 

Gary Holle is also the answer to this obscure trivia question: Who is the only father of a Huntsville player to replace Phil Jackson as a basketball coach? We'll get to that soon.

 

Greg Holle has been a bullpen Swiss Army knife, a middle reliever, set-up and closer. He's pitched in 44 games, going into Thursday's meeting with Mobile, with a 4-3 record, 10 saves and 3.88.

 

Says pitching coach Chris Hook, "From the fifth inning on, he should be very comfortable with any spot. He's done all those and he's performed admirably."

 

Relieving "is the best fit, mindwise," Holle says. He performs well under a routine and with good work habits. It helps him knowing there's a 50-50 chance he'll be called upon to go to work when he shows up at the ballpark.

 

"When you're a starter, if you have a bad night, and it happens to everybody, you have to sit there for four days," Holle says.

 

Within Family Holle, there is more than the father-son drafted-by-Brewers coincidence.

 

"It's the full family effect," as Greg was telling Marzec. "It was one of the things where the whole family was involved."

 

There was the grandmother who was a die-hard Yankees fan, Greg's mom Paula, who has spent a lifetime in bleacher seats, and his older brother Gary Jr., a basketball player at Siena. And when Greg found himself a bride, it was the 6-1 former TCU volleyball standout, Kristen Hester.

 

Gary Holle has a six-year career in pro ball, including a Triple Crown in his debut season, and that experience now benefits his son.

 

"Him having done it and gone through the same (career), being able to just call him has been great," Greg Holle says. "Yeah, he was a position player (first base) and there's a little variance between a pitcher and that, but regardless if it's hitting or pitching, it can get in your head as far as trying to force the issue rather than letting the game come to you.

 

"Aside from the stuff now, growing up he was my basketball coach, he taught Sunday school, all that. I was fortunate having a dad who was really involved."

 

For one night, Gary Holle was also the basketball coach of the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball League. Basketball was his primary sport. He signed a scholarship to Xavier, then transferred to Siena, where he also joined the baseball team and, says Greg, "the next thing you know, he got drafted and winds up in the big leagues."

 

He later became general manager of the Patroons, where Phil Jackson was still a long way from being the coach who'd win 11 NBA titles. After a set-to with a referee, Jackson was socked with a two-game suspension. The assistant coach got a one-game suspension. Enter Holle, who led the team to a win over Bay State - then "retired" undefeated as a pro coach.

 

Huntsville Stars' pitcher Greg Holle

 

http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/13266116-large.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Courtesy of Stars GM Buck Rogers --

 

Stars fans, if you’d like to own the game-worn jersey of your favorite Stars player from the 2013 season, our annual off-season jersey auction is now open.

 

Listed below are the sizes, colors, and players’ or coaches’ names. The jerseys are in home white, road gray, and alternate navy blue. All are mesh.

 

Bidding begins at $150 and increases in $5 increments. You can buy any available jersey now for $200 on a first come-first served basis and it will be removed from the auction immediately.

 

The auction will close at 12:00 pm (noon) on Thursday, September 19th. Winning bidders will be contacted for payment and shipping information.

 

If you’re interested in placing a bid here’s what you need to do:

 

1-Select the jersey(s) from the list below.

 

2-Email the jersey(s), your name, your bid(s), and your day time telephone number to starsinfo@huntsvillestars.com

 

3-If your bid gets topped we will notify you via email.

 

We will ship via the USPS “if it fits, it ships” program which means most of you will have a $15 S/H fee. Those outside of the US will have a higher fee which we’ll get you before shipping.

 

If you purchase at least two jerseys you will receive a FREE Huntsville Stars batting practice cap. Please select from either M/L or L/XL sized cap. The BP cap is a New Era 3930 Flex-Fit model.

 

Please forward this on to all interested parties. Again, bidding closes at noon central time next Thursday 9/19.

 

Here’s what’s available:

 

## SIZE PLAYER OR COACH COLORS

 

2 L Shea Vucinich All

 

3 L Adam Weisenburger, Nick Shaw All

 

4 L Ozzie Chavez, Hector Gomez All

 

6 XL TJ Mittelstaedt, Eric Patterson All

 

7 XL Jason Rogers All

 

8 XL Robinzon Diaz, Micah Owings White & Gray

 

9 XL Rene Tosoni All

 

10 XL All

 

11 XL Darnell Coles Gray & Navy

 

12 XL Mark Rogers All

 

13 XL Casey Medlen All

 

14 XL Jeff Bianchi, Anderson de la Rosa All

 

15 XL David Goforth All

 

16 XL Chadwin Stang All

 

17 XL Alan Williams All

 

18 XL Thomas Keeling All

 

19 XL Drew Gagnon All

 

20 XL Kentrail Davis All

 

21 XL Mike Walker All

 

22 XL Andy Moye All

 

23 XL Kenny Dominguez Gray & Navy

 

25 XL Eric Marzec All

 

26 XL Taylor Jungmann White & Gray

 

27 XL Dan Meadows All

 

28 XL Brooks Hall All

 

29 XL Brian Garman All

 

30 XL Brock Kjeldgaard All

 

31 XL Johnny Lowe All

 

32 XL Mark Williams All

 

33 XL Kevin Shackelford All

 

34 XXL Arcenio Leon All

 

35 XXL Shawn Zarraga All

 

36 XXL All

 

37 XXL Chris Hook Gray & Navy

 

38 XXL Frankie De La Cruz, Santo Manzanillo All

 

39 XXL Mark Williams All

 

40 XXL Jimmy Nelson All

 

41 XXL

 

43 XXL Ariel Pena All

 

44 XXL Greg Holle All

 

45 XXL Mike Olmstead, Santo Manzanillo All

 

If you have any questions please email starsinfo@huntsvillestars.com or call (256) 882-2562 during business hours.

 

Rock On!

[chuckiehacks]

Pretty sure someone from Brewerfan.net needs to buy The Shea Vucinich jersey, just on principle.

[Mass Haas]

Jason Rogers interview at CreamCityCables

[Mass Haas]

David Goforth quotes via BrewersFarmReport

[Mass Haas]

Only Jimmy Nelson, at #18, makes the Southern League Top 20 (you're seeing the trend with these lists, right?). BrewCrewBall has the details.

[Mass Haas]

Welcome to the new voice of the Stars, now not just online, but on radio for the locals.

 

We'd be remiss in not thanking Alex Cohen and his "OH, YEAH!" for all his efforts and correspondence the past two years. I have a note into Alex, not sure of his future plans, but we absolutely wish him the best.

 

You can follow Steve Jarnicki on Twitter here. Learn more about him here.

[Mass Haas]

Loma Rica is Mike Walker’s refuge

by Kirk Barron, Marysville (CA) Appeal-Democrat

 

For more than six months every year, the life of a professional league baseball player is a hectic one. The rest of the year is an opportunity to regroup and recover from the grueling season.

 

"I live two different lives; one during the season going 150 mph all the time, and then you slam on the brakes and all you do is work out and hang out with the dogs," Milwaukee Brewer farmhand Mike Walker (career stats) said.

 

At the end of every season, the 25-year-old Marysville High graduate returns home to Loma Rica where he grew up and stays there until the start of the next season.

 

"It's definitely nice because there are times during the season where you really get homesick because you're halfway across the country," Walker said. "It makes sense — it's cheaper, you save money and get to see family and friends."

 

While back home, Walker spends time with loved ones and keeps his skills sharp while training with fellow professional ball players Max and Brock Stassi of Yuba City.

 

"I've been fortunate to hook up with some of the local guys here to work out and do the whole professional baseball thing," Walker said. "It makes it easier to be with people who are like-minded and heading in the same direction you are."

 

When February rolls around, the chaos of being a professional athlete starts up again. At the end of spring training, the Brewers post the roster telling the players where they will begin their season, and they make a mad dash to find housing and transportation in their new city, Walker said.

 

Once the season starts, Walker plays nearly every night, often while traveling to two or three cities a week.

 

Before the start of last season, Walker was selected to play in the World Baseball Classic with Australia and played first base while going 5 for 11 in three games. Walker's mother, Anne, is from Australia and he holds dual citizenship, which qualified him to play for the team.

 

Walker was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 14th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft after a successful career at University of the Pacific and completed his third season of professional ball in September as a third baseman with the Huntsville Stars in the double-A Southern League.

[Mass Haas]

Jason from "Brewers Farm Report" caught up with new 40-man roster member RHP Brooks Hall

[Mass Haas]

David Goforth feature article via Adam McCalvy

[Mass Haas]

Nice read from Wisconsin Sports Blog --

 

Interview with Huntsville Stars GM Buck Rogers

[Mass Haas]

RHP Brooks Hall audio included via @BrewerNation here.

[Mass Haas]

You read about RHP Eric Marzec's expoits in Australia in our winter league thread, now Jason Arndt catches up with him.

[Mass Haas]

From MiLB.com's article on AA ballpark factors --

 

No explaining the power

 

Huntsville's home yard produces an above-average number of runs and a relatively neutral number of hits (at 405 feet to center field and 345 feet to left field, it is the league's largest park), but there have been one-third more homers in Stars home games than on the road over the past two seasons.

 

On one hand, three Stars (Hector Gomez, .196; Brock Kjeldgaard, .222; and Mike Walker, .223) finished among the bottom five among Southern League hitters who accumulated enough at-bats to qualify for the batting crown last year. On the other, Kjeldgaard led the league with 24 homers and Jason Rogers had 22 with a league-leading 87 RBIs.

 

Of the 34 Minor Leaguers who hit at least 24 homers, just one (Brandon Waring, 82) had fewer hits than Kjeldgaard's 99. But it's too simplistic to say the ballpark is entirely responsible for home run totals. Kjeldgaard has hit at least 12 homers in each of his six pro seasons (including three 20-homer campaigns) and Rogers actually hit 15 of his 22 long balls on the road in 2013.

 

So even though the park appears to play small to most hitters, maybe it's just a matter of the right hitter being there at the right time.

 

"I would say it's middle of the road, maybe slightly a hitters' park," said Kjeldgaard, who said the lack of a batters' eye in Huntsville can sometimes make it tough to see the ball. "It all depends on the day -- some days the wind is blowing in, some days it's blowing out -- you never really know.

 

"You can hit balls there that you think are home runs and they get knocked down by the wind. Other days, you don't think you squared it up and it carries. You just have to test it out during batting practice. As an outfielder, if the wind is blowing out, you will play a little deeper and if it's blowing in, you can play in a little bit more because you know you can get to more balls."

 

***

 

You can read the AAA ballpark effect article here.

[Mass Haas]

Maybe the most extensive quote-filled interview piece we've ever linked to -- courtesy of "Baseball America's favourite Canadian", Alexis Brudnicki:

 

Brock Kjeldgaard continues chase of MLB dream

 

By the way, congrats on the recent marriage, Brock!

[Mass Haas]

AUDIO - WSSP's Tim Allen with:

 

RHP Brooks Hall